


Operation Cupid

by WhiskersandQuiff



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: AU, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff and Angst, Food mentions, M/M, Slow Burn, camp counselors
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 15:26:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16915458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhiskersandQuiff/pseuds/WhiskersandQuiff
Summary: Dan and Phil are rival camp counsellors- Dan leads an aesthetic cabin and Phil’s cabin is just a mess of arts and crafts supplies and glitter. Maybe their campers can finally make them see how good they are together through a cunning plan they like to call “Operation Cupid”.





	Operation Cupid

**Author's Note:**

> This is it, my fic for the [phandom big bang](https://phandombigbang.tumblr.com)! It’s been a long time coming and a lot of hard work, and now here we are! Big thank you to [nerdydisneychild](https://nerdydisneychild.tumblr.com) , my artist! Another thank you to [yellowsomethings](https://yellowsomethings.tumblr.com) for your help with the early work on this monster of a fic, and finally thank you to my group chat, currently called “Spill that freedom tea”, who sent me tons of support throughout this process, especially in these last 2 weeks as I’ve gotten it ready to post.
> 
> [ART](https://nerdydisneychild.tumblr.com/post/180987072773/i-had-the-absolute-privilege-of-being-the-artist)

Dan had always loved going to summer camp.

Every year, he worked at Camp Sunnycreek for six weeks. Six different groups of campers, all young teenagers, would stay at the camp in that time. They would arrive on Friday night and be on their merry way by the following Monday at dinner, and then Dan and his fellow camp counsellors would reset the activities, beds, and cabins, ready for the next group to arrive. 

Dan’s love of summer camp might sound strange when looking at him, fashionable and particular as he was, but camp was always the highlight of Dan’s existence. Sure, he hated getting dirty and he despised the bugs that often infiltrated every part of his life, but it was well worth it. Each set of kids was unique, but they were all smart, kind, and fun, giving Dan more than enough variation for the job to stay interesting. 

Dan’s groups’ cabin looked like an aesthetic blogger’s wet dream. 

The counsellors had been allowed to select the colour scheme and the furniture (within reason) when Dan first started working at the camp, and Dan had taken it to heart. He drew from his experiences designing houses on the Sims to create the best cabin _ever_.

Black curtains hung on either side of the windows. The beds featured black frames, soft grey sheets, and crisp white duvets. A large, circular rug took up all the space in the middle of the dark wood floor of the cabin. It was mostly black with a few minimalistic, curved, white lines for a spot of contrast. The few chairs in the room were cube bean bag chairs made from black faux leather, and they sat around the small triangular card table in one corner of the room. All the dressers were white with black knobs.

All in all, Dan loved his cabin’s design. It fit his aesthetic perfectly, keeping everything wonderfully symmetrical, dark, and monochrome.

Paired with Dan’s sense of personal style, the kids always _knew_ Dan was the coolest camp counsellor around. 

This year looked to be similar to Dan’s previous stints at camp. The only difference this year was the flag, and Dan was sure that it would only make him more popular with the campers.

Because, this year, Dan had decided to embrace his sexuality in the hopes that he could be a beacon of reassurance for his campers.

A few times now, Dan had had campers approach him to come out to him, terrified of what their families might think or say but itching to just tell _someone_. After the first few times, Dan decided to be loud and proud about his own sexuality to the campers, trying to be as welcoming as possible so he could reassure anyone who needed his help.

Dan’s primary “loud and proud” statement was the single colourful decoration in his entire cabin: a gay pride flag. The rainbow flag hung on the back wall of the cabin, the very first thing anyone saw when entering the building. It was Dan’s way of saying, “Everyone is welcome, whether you like it or not. If not, shut the hell up.”

Yeah, this year was really gonna be great.

~~~~~~~~~~

This year would not be great. It might not even be _good_.

It was the first day of camp, and Dan had excitedly gone to get his assignments for the next six weeks.

He had just dropped his bags off in his small room in the cabin and was walking to the administration building when he ran into his least favourite person.

“Oh, hey Dan! Fancy seeing you here!” a cheery voice called from behind Dan and to his left.

Internally, Dan groaned. He didn’t even need to turn around to see whose voice that was. He’d recognize the gratingly cheerful man anywhere.

 _Here we go, I guess_ , Dan thought moodily. Without turning around, he called over his shoulder, “We’ve literally worked here together every year for four years, Phil, this is hardly a surprise now.” Dan kept walking forward, much less pep in his step now.

 _Please leave me alone_ , Dan thought.

Predictably, Dan heard Phil’s footsteps speed up until suddenly the man himself walked directly next to him.

"Well, yeah, but we're walking to the admin building at the same time! It's crazy!"

_Crazy, huh? I'm sure you just saw me walk out of my cabin and decided to follow me around, just to piss me off._

"We're neighbours, and we both need this paperwork. It's really not that weird."

 _Stupid Phil, with his stupid fringe hair and obnoxiously blue eyes and ridiculous optimism_. Dan refused to look at Phil. He wanted nothing to do with the man, so he started to walk faster to try to get a little space between them.

"Whoa, what's the rush! Take it easy, Dan!" Phil said with a laugh.

Dan rolled his eyes but didn't comment. He settled for ignoring Phil's existence for the rest of the short walk to the admin building, letting Phil chatter away unchecked.

Finally, they made it to the building and stepped inside. Dan walked purposefully up to the desk and greeted the secretary, who was flipping through papers on the back counter, her back to the door.

"Hey, Louise. I'm here for my assignments," he said flatly. Louise didn't deserve Grumpy Dan, but he couldn't help it; Phil really brought out the worst in him.

Louise spun around, a bright smile on her face. "Dan! It's so good to see you!" Her eyes flickered over to Phil, who was standing practically on top of Dan. "And Phil! That is _such_ a good haircut, really, it looks amazing on you!"

 _Haircut?_ Dan thought, turning his head slightly to look at Phil for the first time.

Phil's signature black fringe was gone. He now had a quiff rising from his smooth, pale forehead. His eyes were finally always visible, and his hands weren't always occupied with fixing the fringe obsessively, and he looked so confident, and _fuck_ Dan was so gay. Not that he was attracted to Phil, because he definitely wasn't, but Dan could _definitely_ appreciate a confident, sexy man without feeling any sense of attachment. Definitely.

"Oh my god," Dan blurted, then immediately blushed as he realized he'd said that out loud. "I- uh- I mean, like, 'Oh my god, you finally let MySpace rest in peace'." Dan coughed awkwardly to fill the silence, staring pointedly at a spot on the desk.

Louise cackled from behind the desk, then thankfully changed the subject. "Dan, here's your file, and Phil, here's yours." She handed them each a binder full of agendas, instructions, guidelines, and the employee handbook. "If you need anything else, you know where to find me." She winked and turned back to the back counter.

"This is so exciting, isn't it, Dan? The start of a new year of fun camping!" Phil enthused. He flipped his binder open on the front desk and immediately started looking through it.

Dan had been about to do the very same, too excited about the next six weeks to be able to wait until he got back to his cabin, but then decided he _would_ wait until he got back to his cabin. Wherever Phil planned to be in the next month and a half, Dan decided he would plan to be far, _far_ away.

"The excitement is truly overwhelming," Dan drawled sarcastically. He spun on his heel and left the admin building, quickly making his way back to his own cabin.

Luckily, Phil didn't follow.

As soon as the door to Dan's cabin was shut, Dan's face broke out in a grin.

_Camp is starting soon! Time to see the plan for this year!_

Dan sat down on one of the bean bags and placed the binder on the triangle table, then opened it.

Skipping through the standard counsellor handbook, map guides, and emergency plans, Dan found his agenda page.

It looked to be an exciting few days for the campers, including a zipline, canoeing, and a whole new event where they'd make their own short plays. Dan would look into that later, though. First, he wanted to see which cabin he'd be spending a lot of time with.

Every cabin had a buddy-cabin to participate in all the events with so that the campers could make as many friends as possible without overwhelming the counsellor. In past years, Dan had always gotten along well with his co-counsellors (probably mostly because he was stubborn enough that no one would argue with his ideas).

Dan eagerly turned the page and found the contact sheet for his co-counsellor.

What he saw horrified him.

Staring up at him was a photograph of none other than _Phil_.

 _Fuck_ , Dan thought. _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!_ _Why'd it have to be_ him _? Anybody else would have been great, but noooo, it has to be bloody_ Phil _of all people. Fuck._

Dan put his head in his hands and breathed calmly for a moment, then thought that _maybe_ it wasn't too late, maybe, just _maybe_ , he could get Louise to switch his cabin with another one.

He picked up the binder and rushed out the door, running over to the admin building again.

"Louise!" he yelled as soon as the door opened.

She turned around, sighing deeply.

"This can't be-" Dan began.

"Yes, it can. You and Phil are co-counsellors this year for all six weeks and there's nothing you can do to get out of it."

Dan gaped at her. " _What?!_ "

"We've all had enough of your bickering and decided that the only way to get you two to knock it off once and for all is to force you to work together." Louise stared intently into Dan's eyes, searching for any sign of Dan relaxing. She wouldn't find any.

"That's ridiculous! You can't make someone work with the person they hate, that's- that's- that's just wrong! You're setting my campers up for a bad week by doing this!" Dan raged, gesticulating wildly.

"No, Dan. _You_ are setting your _own_ campers up for a bad week. We can't have them dealing with inter-counsellor animosity like you seem to create with Phil, and the other counsellors are sick of you two fighting, so you have to deal with this. Establish a working relationship, get to know each other, whatever, just _deal with it_." Louise's face was tainted extra pink from her rant, and she breathed heavily. She flopped back in her chair and studiously ignored Dan's shocked expression.

Dan's mouth was hanging open in surprise. He hadn't expected Louise to be so worked up about it and he hadn't expected the other counsellors to have a problem with him and Phil. "I'm-" Dan began, mouth dry. He swallowed thickly, then tried again. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that bad for everyone else." His fingers tapped an anxious rhythm on the binder still in his hands.

Louise looked up again, eyes softening. "It's okay, Dan. Just fix it. Phil's a really nice guy and there's no reason you two shouldn't be friends."

 _There's every reason for us not to be friends_. "I'll try to be nicer to him, I guess."

Louise sighed heavily. "What even happened between you two that made you hate him so much? I've only ever seen him be nice to you, but I also know you wouldn't hate him for no reason."

Dan's cheeks heated up, and he thought back to when he first met Phil.

~~~~~~~~~~

Four years ago, Dan was in training to be a camp counsellor. He thought he would hate it- no internet, no cell phone, and lots of time outside? A recipe for disaster. It didn't help that he'd be away from his boyfriend for six whole weeks, either. But it was good money and his mother insisted he get outside for once, so there he was, the summer after high school, taking care of a bunch of children.

During his first year as a counsellor, he trained under Phil for the first two weeks. They'd hit it off immediately, sharing similar interests and, while their styles differed greatly, they somehow balanced each other well. Phil taught Dan how to run his cabin, giving him advice for how to make it his own, and let Dan do as much of the work as he could so that Dan would get experience. Phil would show Dan how to do it once or twice, and Dan would do it for the rest of the day until he had it down and they had to move on to their next activity.

They exchanged phone numbers at the end of the year and went home, promising to text each other.

But then two unexpected things happened.

First, Phil never responded to Dan's messages. For whatever reason, every message Dan sent was left on read with absolutely no response, and it hurt. It hurt a lot.

Second, Dan's boyfriend left him. Apparently, "all Dan cared about since that stupid job was Phil" and his boyfriend was "sick of hearing about fucking Phil". So, being an immature asshole, Dan's boyfriend dumped him, despite Dan's assurances that Phil was just a friend and that they hadn't even talked since camp.

The next year at camp, Dan avoided Phil as much as possible. He requested to keep his cabin separate from Phil's, wouldn't speak to Phil unless it was yelling, and never tried to get an explanation for why Phil wouldn't respond to his texts. In Dan's mind, it meant that Phil clearly didn't want anything to do with him, so Dan decided that Phil didn't deserve to even be around him. Besides, it was Phil's fault Dan didn't have a boyfriend anymore. So Dan stayed away from Phil, and Phil learned to stay at a safe distance from Dan. And that was that.

~~~~~~~~~~

Dan couldn't tell Louise that, though. She'd never understand. She would insist that he go talk it out with Phil, but, honestly, Dan would rather do anything else than talk to Phil about the past.

He went for an answer that was still true, just much of much less personal significance.

"I just can't stand him. His cabin is always really loud, he's a total mess, and he has no coherent theme to his cabin. It stresses me out to watch him do anything and I can't take him seriously. Also, he's really immature, which is not the kind of example these kids need," Dan said firmly.

Louise rolled her eyes at him. "Those are really terrible reasons, but okay. Just make it work, alright?"

Dan nodded defeatedly. "Yeah, I'll do my best." He turned and walked to the door.

"Good. I'll see you at the campfire!" Louise called as he left.

Throwing a wave over his shoulder, Dan trudged back to his cabin to finish looking through his paperwork.

_This is going to be the best damn summer camp these kids have ever been to, even with Phil's annoyingly pretty face getting in the way._

~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, Dan was introducing himself to his campers. 7 teenagers were under his watchful gaze for the next few days, and he intended to make the most of it.

They had just finished picking their bunks and putting away their belongings, so Dan called them all over to the triangle table and bean bags.

Once everyone was seated, Dan gave his intro spiel.

"Hello, campers! As I said as we walked over here, my name's Dan. My pronouns are he/him. This is my fourth year as a counsellor, and my first year with any kind of colour in this cabin. Don't expect much colour around me anywhere but that flag, because you won't see any. In case you were not aware, that,” Dan pointed at the flag on the back wall of the cabin, “is a gay pride flag. I put it up this year because I want everyone to know that this is a safe place. I have no tolerance for bigotry, prejudice, or homophobia, but every tolerance for anyone who wants to talk to me about anything you're struggling with. I've experienced hate for who I am, but I've learned to overcome it. If that's something I can help you do, too, then I'll be glad to help. Any questions so far?" Dan glanced around the circle, a small, welcoming smile on his face.

One of the campers raised their hand, and Dan called on them.

"Dan, if you don't mind me asking, does that mean you're gay?" they asked nervously.

Dan smiled wider. "I actually don't really identify as anything specific. I'm attracted to who I'm attracted to, and that's good enough for me. That's closer to bisexual or pansexual than gay, but I like to think that labels are as fluid as sexuality and gender. I used the gay pride flag because I think it's more easily identifiable than any others, though. If you want, we can talk more about that throughout the weekend, but I think it's best if we get to know each other a bit better now. Unless anyone else has any pressing questions?" Dan looked around again but was met with silence. "Great, let's go around the circle and introduce ourselves now. Say your name, pronouns, age, and one interesting fact about yourself."

The campers nodded, and one volunteered to start.

"I'm Marissa. My pronouns are she/her, I'm 16, and I have seven pet bunnies at home," Marissa said with a friendly smile.

The camper to her left went next, and around the circle they went. In all, there were three girls, three boys, and one person who identified as nonbinary. Their ages ranged from 14 to 17.

"Alright," Dan began after they were done. "The girls' restroom is on the right in the back of the cabin, boys' is on the left, and if you're not comfortable in either of those, you can share my private restroom. Does that sound alright to everyone?"

They all nodded.

"Brilliant. We have about an hour still before the campfire, so we could play a few games if you want?"

For the next hour, Dan and his little group got to know each other better over games of What Do You Meme? and Apples to Apples (Dan was not about to play Cards Against Humanity with teenagers, no way).

Dan's group of campers was fun so far. They were respectful and kind to each other but still knew how to have fun.

Plus, they all knew about loads of memes, so that was absolutely a good sign for the rest of the weekend.

At the end of the hour, Dan called a halt to the games.

"Alright, we have to get going now, so count up your cards. Who played the most relatable cards in Apples to Apples?" Dan asked, already beginning to clean up the red cards.

The campers counted up their cards, laughing at the random adjectives they had received throughout the game.

"I only got two, and I'm smelly and weird," said Chloe, wrinkling her nose.

"Ha! I got four! I'm absurd, courageous, visionary, and shocking!" shouted James. He waved his cards around triumphantly.

They all called out their cards excitedly, discovering that it was a three-way tie between James, Maddie, and Jo.

"Congratulations, you three! We have to head to the campfire now, so let's all put on some shoes and head out!" Dan snapped and pointed finger guns at the door, making the kids laugh.

The group rushed to the door, threw on some shoes, and made their way down the path to the campfire with Dan leading the way.

Walking backwards, Dan explained a little more of their schedule to his campers. "Alright, everyone, we'll be spending a lot of time with Phil's cabin this weekend for our activities, so if you're going to socialize with other groups, they would probably be best. You can get to know them now and have more fun as the weekend goes on, okay?"

"Socializing? Sounds like work," grumbled Chris.

Dan laughed. "Chris, I think we'll get along perfectly this week."

Chris smiled slightly and high-fived Dan.

Turning around to walk normally, Dan continued talking to his group over his shoulder.

"Now, Phil is a bit more eccentric than I am and he's usually a bit of a mess, but I'm sure his campers will be great and you'll all be wonderful friends by the time you all go home."

A few minutes later, they all made it to the clearing with the fire pit.

There were a few logs lying on their sides around a circle of rocks. Some of the senior counsellors, including Phil, had already arrived with their cabins to set up the fire and the s’more station. Unfortunately for Dan, his cabin was required to sit next to Phil’s so that the campers could start bonding. This, of course, meant that Dan would have to sit near _Phil_ the whole time, which was not something he was looking forward to.

_He’ll probably talk about annoyingly cheerful things and refuse to shut up ever. It’s gonna be a long night._

The campfire officially began as the last cabin filed in and the senior counsellors introduced themselves and the camp.

Dan zoned out almost immediately. He had already heard this spiel many times in the last few years, so he didn’t really feel the need to pay attention. 

The senior counsellors finally stopped talking about the rules of camp and the week’s schedule and the names of the counsellors and _blah blah blah_ , releasing the campers to speak freely with each other and roast their marshmallows for s’mores. 

Dan watched as his campers began to speak to who he assumed had to be Phil’s campers. 

_At least they’re having fun. That’s what matters. These kids can grow to become friends, even if I can’t stand Phil._

The unexpected socialness of Dan’s campers left him with no one to talk to until Phil sat down directly next to him.

 _Oh, great, here we bloody go_ , Dan thought. He resolved to stay silent until Phil attempted to interact, at which time he would respond as minimally as possible until Phil gave up on his friendliness and would leave Dan in peace.

He didn’t have to wait long; apparently, Phil wasn’t in the mood for silence.

“Hey! How was your bonding time with your campers? Mine are all super excited to meet yours,” Phil began.

“It was fine,” Dan mumbled, picking at his fingernails rather than looking at Phil.

Without missing a beat, Phil continued, “That’s great! We played some craft games in my cabin, already broke out the paints and glitter. That might have been a mistake, as there’s now glitter everywhere, but we had so much fun! What did you guys do?”

Dan yawned, not bothering to hide his boredom. Being rude was the point, of course. “Stuff. Talked.” 

Phil stared at Dan for a moment, smile still frozen on his face. He seemed to be deciding what to say. “That’s… nice. Are they excited for the camp experience?”

Dan shrugged noncommittally. “Sure.”

A soft, slightly exasperated sigh blew out of Phil’s mouth. 

_He’s breaking. Good._

“So… we’re working closely together for the next few weeks. It’ll be fun, right?” Phil said, obviously desperate to maintain his cheery attitude.

“Fun? With you? Unlikely,” Dan said, finally looking Phil in the eye with the most bored expression he could muster.

Phil’s smile wavered, then slowly fell away completely. His eyes flickered towards the ground, the trees behind Dan, the fire, anywhere but Dan.

 _Glad that’s over_ , Dan thought, turning back to face the fire. He was relieved that Phil apparently had no response so he could go back to sitting in silence.

Except Phil did have a response. 

In a low whisper, he asked, “It’s been four years, Dan. You’re so different from when we met. Why do you _hate_ me so much?”

It caught Dan off-guard. His head snapped back to Phil, and his eyes widened at the sight.

Phil’s posture was slumped, his head ducked a little. He looked directly into the fire, studiously ignoring Dan’s presence beside him. He looked so _defeated_ that Dan actually felt guilty for once. That was a new experience.

 _Is he… do I actually bother him that much? Does he really think I hate him?_ Dan thought back to his actions over the last few years and recalled how mean he’d been in that time, hurling insults. He remembered how just that morning he had told Louise he hated Phil. _Do I really hate him, though?_

His thoughts were interrupted when Phil kept going. “I try to be so nice to you, but it’s like you don’t see that. I don’t know what I did to make you so angry, but I’m sorry.”

Dan’s eyes narrowed, and he scowled. _He doesn’t know? Yeah, right. What a fake apology. And I thought I was starting to feel_ bad _for how I’d treated him_.

“You don’t know what you did? I find that hard to believe. When you actually want to apologize, come find me, and _maybe_ I’ll forgive you.” 

Phil quickly turned to meet Dan’s gaze.

“What? I really don’t know, but if you’d just _tell_ me, I could try to-”

“Alright, campers and counsellors!” called Dylan, the head of the camp. He was a short, skinny man, well into his thirties, with the scruffiest beard and hair Dan had ever seen. It had been wild and uncontrolled as long as Dan had known him. “Time for some campfire songs!”

 _Thank god. I don’t want to hear more of his excuses_.

“Counsellors, please stand up to lead your cabins in our first song!”

Surprisingly, Dan didn’t actually hate singing campfire songs. They were cheesy and dumb, but, for him, that was what made them fun. He especially appreciated them this time, as they were a welcome distraction from his unpleasant conversation with Phil. He stood up, plastering a smile back on his face in place of the scowl. A quick glance to his side saw that Phil had reacted similarly.

 _If he didn’t irritate me so much, that might actually be a cute smile_ , Dan thought bitterly. 

The counsellors all began singing the camp song, teaching the words and claps to the campers as they went, until their laughter rang out across the clearing.

Subconsciously, Dan kept looking over at Phil as he laughed, watching the way his tongue would poke through his teeth.

 _God, that’s adorable. Why does he even do that? How does he look so happy? I wish I could make him look like that_ … 

Dan stopped abruptly, fumbling the words of the song as his hands clapped off the beat.

 _What the hell am I thinking? Adorable? Smiling? Why would I ever want to make him smile when he was such a dick to me! Sure, he’s attractive, but think about his_ personality _, Dan! Get a grip!_

He shook his head slightly, laughing off the mistakes like it was no big deal.

 _It’s fine. Just stop looking at him like that_.

Easier said than done, apparently. Dan caught himself staring at Phil more often than not.

 _Dammit_ , he thought after the fifth time he noticed how blue Phil’s eyes were. _Fine, he’s adorable. He’s attractive. He has a nice smile. He’s also a dick and messy and ridiculous. People can be objectively attractive while still also having terrible personalities. That’s just life. Now get over it, and move on!_

Finally, the campfire ended and the groups were sent back to their cabins for the night. On the walk back to Dan’s cabin, his campers all clumped together to talk and laugh about what a fun night it had been. He was glad to hear that they were excited about how the rest of the weekend would go.

“Hey, Dan?” came a voice from next to him.

Dan startled, then glanced down to see Chris walking next to him. “What’s up, Chris?”

The sixteen-year-old shrugged. “I just wanted to ask about Phil. You two seem to be pretty close.”

 _What?! How on earth did he get_ that _impression?_

“Oh, haha, well-” Dan began, ready to explain that he and Phil were _definitely not_ close, but he realized he shouldn’t throw Phil under the bus to his camper. Phil was his co-counsellor and would be working closely with him this year, and it wouldn’t be fair of him to drag his kids into the drama. He had to be civil for their sake (around them, anyway. In private, all bets were off). “Yeah, I mean, we’ve worked together for a few years now.” _It’s not technically a lie, really. It’ll do for now, anyway._

“Are you guys dating?” Chris asked curiously.

Dan spluttered. “Are we- excuse me?!”

Chris grinned innocently. _Too_ innocently. 

_He’s up to something_.

“Dating. You know, boyfriends? Cuz you two seemed to look at each other an awful lot at the campfire.”

 _Oh no. Someone noticed. No no no no no, how many others noticed? Did_ Phil _notice? Fuck._

“We are _definitely not_ dating. We’re just co-workers.”

“Then why were you staring at him and blushing so much? Hey, are you blushing now? It’s hard to see in the dark.”

_Oh, god. I’m definitely blushing now._

“I- I don’t know what you mean. I think you were imagining things, Chris,” Dan stuttered, trying to salvage the conversation.

Chris gasped. “Oh! I think I get it now! You like him, don’t you? You just haven’t told him! Well, I think you’ve got nothing to worry about. He was staring at you and blushing, too. He looked a little sad, though. Maybe he’s scared to tell you he likes you, too! This weekend is gonna be so good, oh my god. We are _so_ getting you two together,” he rambled.

“No!” Dan yelped, startling Chris. Regaining an ounce of composure, Dan spoke in as even a voice as he could muster, “That’s really not necessary. I appreciate what you want to do, but you really don’t understand the situation-”

“Of course I don’t,” Chris said, winking slyly, as if to say, _It’s our secret_.

Dan sighed deeply. “I’m not getting out of this, am I.”

“Nope!” Chris exclaimed cheerily. “Good talk, Dan!” he said, slowing down to walk with his cabin mates.

Faintly, Dan heard whispers and caught glimpses of his name, Phil’s name, and something they apparently decided to call _Operation Cupid_.

_Oh, god. What have I gotten myself into?_

~~~~~~~~~~

 _Operation Cupid_ apparently began the next morning.

The campers all got up when Dan woke them at 7am, grumbling their way through morning showers, tooth-brushing, and dressing for the day.

Until Chris mentioned something about where they should eat breakfast, and the whole cabin seemed to perk up.

Dan narrowed his eyes at the sudden excitement on the faces of the exhausted campers. 

_That’s suspicious… What are they up to?_

No one said anything particularly odd after that, but they all seemed to double their speed getting ready until they were pushing Dan out the door, barely letting him grab his schedule binder on the way, as they all yelled about how they needed to get to breakfast.

“What’s gotten into all of you? Ten minutes ago, you were all zombies! Does one of you have a stash of coffee that I don’t know about?” Dan teased. 

“We’re just all excited at the thought of food, Dan! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you know,” Marissa said seriously. 

The other campers nodded solemnly in agreement.

_I don’t buy that for two seconds, but there’s nothing I can do about it._

“Well… I guess I’m glad you all recognize the importance of a balanced meal system, then,” Dan said.

When they arrived at the mess hall, Dan’s campers made a beeline for the empty seats at the table already mostly occupied by Phil’s cabin.

Internally, Dan sighed.

_I have to get over it. They’re supposed to spend time together later, so they should try to be friends now._

Dan followed them to the table, resigning himself to either be civil or ignore Phil wherever possible.

Ignoring Phil quickly proved to be out of the question, however. Conveniently, the campers left only one seat open, and it _just so happened_ to be right next to Phil.

_Of bloody course._

He sat down next to Phil, refusing to make eye contact with the other counsellor, and instead looked around the table at his campers. They all pretended to ignore him, but would occasionally smugly glance over at him and Phil. Dan wasn’t sure why at first, but then it hit him:

 _Those little twerps planned this! Damn, they really_ are _trying to get us together. Well, joke’s on them, it’s not happening._

“Morning, Dan’s cabin!” Phil said cheerily. “We should go around the table and say all our names so we can get to know each other. Ooh, and everyone say your favourite breakfast food! I’ll go first: I’m Phil, and I love American pancakes!”

He looked pointedly at Dan, who resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

_Remember, even if you’re not going to let these kids manipulate you into a relationship with him, you should still be civil. They shouldn’t have to deal with a counsellor who’s unable to put aside personal feelings to be nice to someone._

“I’m Dan, and I like Crunchy Nut Cereal,” Dan said with a slight smile.

And so it went around the circle. Things were going alright, for now. Dan didn’t have to interact with Phil too much, yet, so he could pretend Phil just wasn’t there at all.

After the icebreaker, however, someone started a “Pancakes vs Waffles” discourse.

“I actually prefer waffles to pancakes, though,” said James.

Phil gasped dramatically. “James! I thought we were friends!”

The campers snickered.

James shrugged. “Waffles always have been, and always will be, the superior breakfast food, and that’s a fact.”

Phil shook his head, clearly betrayed.

“It’s okay, Phil, I’m on your side!” said one of Phil’s campers, Lainey. “Pancakes are _way_ better.”

And so the discourse exploded. The campers quickly split into factions: pancakes, and waffles. An epic battle of the wits began, each side fighting desperately to prove their choice was better. 

“Dan, what do you think?” asked Chloe. Well, it was more of a yell, really, so she could be heard over all the ruckus from her fellow campers.

The table went silent, all eyes turning to Dan.

Dan scoffed. “Obviously, pancakes are amazing. Waffles can’t even compare.”

The table gasped, then launched into a new phase of the debate.

Phil, meanwhile, turned to Dan, beaming.

“I knew you’d be on my side! Pancakes are the sensible choice.” Phil gave a short nod of approval, then turned back to the debate.

Dan stared off into space to think for a moment.

_I’m on his side for something? I didn’t even think! I don’t want to be on his side!_

When he tuned back into reality, he realized he had just been staring directly at Chris, who was smiling knowingly. Dan felt his cheeks darkening, much to his irritation, and Chris sent him an exaggerated wink.

 _Oh, great. I’ve just solidified my “crush” on my enemy to these kids. Dammit! Now they’ll never let it go_.

Finally, the food came out of the kitchen, temporarily disrupting the discourse as the kids excitedly awaited the arrival of the plates.

The mess hall staff brought them plate after plate of pancakes, eggs, and potatoes, accompanied by syrup and ketchup.

Phil let out a triumphant, “Ha! See?” and pointed at the pancakes. “Pancakes _are_ better than waffles, or we’d be having waffles right now.”

The waffle team collectively sighed, discouraged, but their waffle-bias didn’t stop them from digging into the pancakes.

Dan was largely amused by the debates; he was still reeling from the fact that he’d agreed with Phil, but at least the campers were having fun. They were turning out to be a fun group, despite Phil’s presence, so Dan grew tentatively hopeful about the rest of the weekend.

Finally, Dan got his hands on some food after waiting for all the kids to get theirs. He was unbelievably hungry and couldn’t wait to sink his teeth into some delicious panca-

 _Smack_.

“Ow, what the-” Dan began, cutting himself off just before he could swear in front of his campers. He looked down at his elbow, which had been brutally hit.

Apparently, it had been Phil’s doing.

_Ugh, why’d I have to sit next to the klutz? This sucks._

“My arm was there, thanks,” he said sarcastically and rolling his eyes at Phil.

“You’re left-handed?” Phil asked, sounding surprised. He rubbed his elbow gently, presumably to try to relieve some of the pain from knocking it against Dan’s.

Dan glared at him. “Yes? Why else would I be eating with my left hand?” He lifted his fork pointedly.

Phil’s cheeks coloured a light pink. “I just mean that- well- we’re sat on the wrong sides of each other, then. That’s why our arms bumped.”

Dan blinked, then looked down again, examining the situation. Sure enough, Phil’s right hand held a fork, just like Dan’s own left hand.

“Oh. You mean to say that we’ll be bumping into each other all breakfast?” His upper lip curled ever-so-slightly in a sneer as he glanced up at Phil again.

 _Oh god please no_.

Phil didn’t look too pleased either. In fact, he looked like he was forcing himself to keep a pleasant expression on his face and failing miserably. 

_Of_ course _my left-handedness irritates him. Why wouldn’t it? At least I’m seeing his too-nice persona cracking. I knew there was some underlying pissiness._

“Um, well, I guess we could switch places? Then we wouldn’t knock elbows,” Phil suggested, his eyes darting around and avoiding Dan’s face. He seemed to be trying to gather up his own plate and drink to get ready to move, but then he glanced up at the rest of their table and froze. “Oh, but then you’d be knocking elbows with Lainey.”

_Be an adult. Be professional. It’s just breakfast, it’ll be fine. The kids are already starting to look over and wonder if something’s wrong, and we can’t have that._

“Nah, that’s okay. Let’s just stay like this. I’m sure we’ll get through it,” Dan said crisply. He turned back to his food and took a bite. He could feel Phil’s eyes on him.

“Okay, then,” Phil agreed after a beat of silence. He turned back to his food, too.

Dan managed to get a few bites before his elbow bumped Phil’s again. He jumped in surprise at first, then shrugged it off, deliberately ignoring it. The next time it happened, he was more prepared to mask his surprise, but his irritation couldn’t be contained quite as much as he would have hoped. Each time Phil’s arm bumped his own, he would let out an annoyed huff of a sigh, maybe even send Phil a bit of a glare. Every time, Phil would deflate a little more, until he had shrunk away so much from Dan that their arms barely brushed.

Mostly, Dan only barely noticed Phil’s attempts to pull away. He had gotten absorbed into conversation with some of the campers, so he was eating a little less. Of course, he could still see Phil moving out of the corner of his eye, but he was making an effort to let it go.

And then Dan noticed that it had been _ages_ since Phil had last bumped into him.

_That’s weird. He just reached for more pancakes a minute ago, didn’t he? Maybe he’s ready for us to leave breakfast for our activities?_

Dan turned to look at his co-counsellor and felt his heart break a little.

Phil’s body language screamed discomfort and defence. His shoulders were hunched in on themselves, his elbows tucked in as close to his sides as possible. He somehow managed a slow bite despite his elbow-placement - it was probably due to how low his head was ducked and how poor his posture was. Phil rarely had good posture, of course, but this was another level of hunched that Dan had never seen on him before. When Dan’s eyes flickered up to his face, he saw that Phil was obviously faking a smile for the campers he was talking to: he didn’t laugh, he didn’t show his teeth, and the smiles _never_ reached his eyes.

 _Is that- is that my fault?_ Dan thought, horrified. _It was just an elbow bump, it’s really not that big a deal. So why did I make it one? Why am I such a dick? I need to fix this, but I can’t make it too obvious or he’ll think I’m apologizing, and I can’t do that. I don’t apologize to Phil Lester, I just don’t. … but I do have to make him feel better or the kids will notice. Yeah. I’m doing this for the kids, not for him, and I’m not apologizing._

He gently bumped Phil with his elbow to get his attention.

Unfortunately, Phil was lifting his fork to his mouth, so he assumed it was his fault. His head snapped to look at Dan, eyes wide. 

“Sorry! I’m really trying not to, I know it’s been bugging you, and-” Phil rambled.

Dan smiled, hopefully exuding friendliness. “No, Phil, that one was me. I’m just- It’s really not a big deal, yeah? It’s just breakfast,” he said softly, trying to keep their conversation from the prying ears of their campers.

Phil blinked, presumably processing Dan’s statement. His eyes scanned Dan’s face, still unsure for a moment.

“Really, Phil. It’s fine,” Dan assured him. _He doesn’t seem to be getting it… He’s still sad._ “I- I guess what I’m trying to say is I’m sorry I was kind of dramatic about it.” 

That seemed to really catch Phil’s attention, as his eyes immediately caught Dan’s. His back straightened as he lost some of his defensive edge.

“Oh. Well, um- thanks. ‘S alright, really. I mean, you’re right - it’s just breakfast,” Phil said with a smile. Dan was relieved to find that it was a genuine smile finally.

He nodded at Phil, then turned to the campers again. It seemed that none of them had overheard, although there were some suspicious glances in their direction and a whispered conversation or two that had Dan somewhat worried about what they thought they had witnessed. 

Fortunately, before they could comment, they had to let it go because Dylan picked up a microphone to make an announcement. Everyone turned to see what was happening.

“Hello, campers! I hope you enjoyed your breakfast. Let’s all give a round of applause to the mess hall staff!” He paused to clap around his mic, then raised it to his lips to continue. “Alright, so, on the agenda for today we have a lot of fun planned! Your cabins are all paired up to do the activities in rounds, so make sure you find your buddies! Counsellors, you have half an hour to introduce them to their project and brainstorm some initial ideas before you go off to the activities, so get started!”

The campers excitedly turned back around, already all talking at once, wondering what the project could be.

“Are we building something?” asked Chris.

“Or painting?” added Jo.

“Is it capture-the-flag and we have to come up with a strategy?” wondered James. “I have the _best_ ideas for that!”

Phil laughed. “I’m sure you do, James, but that’s not our project. We can all head back to our cabin to talk about the project if everyone’s done eating?”

“Which cabin, though?” asked Maisie, one of Phil’s campers. 

“Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.” Phil turned to his right. “What do you think, Dan?” 

“Well, we have a table and chairs in my cabin, so that might be helpful-”

“We have huge colourful beanbag chairs and a sparkly table in Phil’s cabin! It’s _awesome_!” declared Johnny, another of Phil’s campers.

Dan’s campers erupted in excited chatter, all curious about the beanbags and sparkles.

“Oh, I don’t have my binder, either, so we’d have to stop by there anyway,” Phil said apologetically. “Is that okay?”

 _No, it’s not okay! His cabin is probably a mess, oh god, even the thought makes me want to cringe into the next dimension_. He opened his mouth to convey this idea, hopefully more politely for the kids’ sake, when he remembered: the kids were the ones who wanted this. If he truly wanted to answer for the kids’ sake, he’d have to agree. He sighed internally, then plastered as much of a smile as he could muster onto his face.

“Yeah, that’s fine! Let’s do it.” Hopefully, it didn’t sound as un-enthusiastic as it felt. “Everyone, bring your dishes to the counter and then meet at the door to the mess hall.”

The campers sprang into action, clearing their places and rushing to take care of them. Dan and Phil lagged behind. 

“Sorry about that, I know you’re not the biggest fan of my cabin,” Phil said as he balanced his utensils and cup on his plate. “Thanks for letting them pick. It was big of you to do that.”

Dan scrunched his brows as he frowned. “‘Big of me’? What’s that supposed to mean?”

Phil quickly looked up at Dan, regret playing across his face. “That came out wrong, I didn’t mean that- like- it’s not a surprising thing, you making a mature decision. Well, I mean, I was kind of surprised, but I think you’re mature! I was just- surprised? I-”

Dan huffed and rolled his eyes. “Sure, thanks. So glad to know you can’t speak properly.” He spun on his heel and went to the counter to drop off his dishes.

 _I can’t believe him. I mean, honestly, who does that? If either of us is immature, it’s definitely_ him _. He can’t even talk to people without saying the wrong thing! And I bet his cabin will already be an absolute wreck, what a child._

He walked back to join his campers at the door, still glaring at nothing as he thought through his irritation. He only barely managed to reign it back in when he got to the entrance, putting on a smile for his campers, although the angry thoughts continued swirling in his head. As they all left the mess hall and began the walk to Phil’s cabin together, however, one thought was louder and more persistent than the others:

 _You_ are _immature. You stormed off. He’s right._

~~~~~~~~~~

The rowdy group reached Phil’s cabin and funnelled inside. Dan’s campers, of course, _loved_ the colours and lights, much to Dan’s disappointment. He would have preferred them to be polite but not too attached since that would mean they thought his cabin was decorated best, and he felt a surge of jealousy that the campers thought Phil’s cabin was more fun than his own.

Dan looked around the room, taking everything in and assessing the mess. Unsurprisingly, there was already quite a bit that could use some tidying. Socks were strewn across the floor, clothes hastily jostled around in half-open suitcases or hanging out of the drawers lining the walls. Only one bed was made in the whole cabin, the obnoxiously bright blue and green duvet tucked tightly into the edges of the mattress. The rest were all proudly showing the vibrant purple sheets under the crumpled duvets. The only clean part of the room was how it was all arranged: the beds and drawers lined the walls to make room in the middle for a large, circular table and colourful beanbags arranged in rainbow order. Even this part of the room, however, was a mess- craft supplies littered its surface as if a tornado had blown through the cabin and lingered directly on top of the table. 

_I knew it would be a mess. It’s only been a day and everything’s already a mess. He can’t even control his campers properly_ , Dan thought. He barely managed to contain his sneer, and that was only because of the hyper babble of the campers.

“Welcome, everyone!” Phil announced. He gestured towards the beanbag chairs and the table. “Go ahead and take a seat, make yourselves comfortable. You can use the craft supplies if you’d like. I always like to have something to do with my hands.” He held up his hands and curled his fingers like he was grabbing something.

The kids laughed, quickly following his directions.

Phil turned to Dan, somewhat warily.

“You can- um- you can come in farther, you know,” he said awkwardly, then flapped a hand in the direction of the table. “Have a seat, if you like.”

Dan nodded curtly, turning to watch the campers all sit around the table. Internally, he sighed at the mess again, then forced himself to get over it and sit down. The campers just-so-happened to all sit next to each other again, forcing Dan to sit next to Phil, but he tried to ignore it. He plopped his planning binder down on the table and grabbed a pen from one of its pockets, ready to jot down any ideas the campers had. He ignored Phil as he sat down to his right.

“Alright everybody, all settled in?” Dan began, putting in the effort to be cheery. When a chorus of “yeah!” and “yes!” replied, he nodded and set about explaining the project. “Great. So, your project is to come up with a short play that you’ll perform for your parents when they come to pick you up.”

“We’ll come up with a plot and a script together, then make our sets ourselves! It can’t be too fancy, though, or we’ll never finish,” Phil added as he opened his own binder.

“That sounds awesome!” exclaimed Josh, one of Dan’s campers. 

The rest of the group chimed to express their enthusiasm.

Marissa raised her hand and immediately started talking without waiting for acknowledgement. “But how are we gonna pick an idea? We don’t really have enough time to think of anything!” she wondered.

Dan nodded. “A valid question, Marissa. Me and Phil already brainstormed a few ideas that we could try, right, Phil?” He glanced over at Phil, then down at Phil’s binder. It was completely covered in doodles.

_Bloody typical. Is he even paying attention?_

“Yeah, I’ve got some we could try. Do you wanna suggest yours first?” Phil asked casually.

“Sure,” Dan agreed. Maybe if he presented his idea first, they’d all agree to just do his idea without even hearing Phil’s idea. Not that Dan thought Phil’s idea could possibly be _better_ , but he was a little… concerned, to say the least, after how his campers had reacted to Phil’s cabin. Hopefully, this would make him the Cool Counsellor again. “How many of you have seen The Office?” 

“Oh, I _love_ The Office!”

“Yesssss.”

“It’s literally the best thing ever!” 

Dan laughed as the kids shouted out their favourite parts. “Okay, okay! Great, I’m glad you like it. My idea is to do something kind of like The Office, so a mockumentary, about camp stuff. So we’d make our play about what we do at camp and the misadventures we could have.”

“That sounds like fun! I’ve been practising my face for like if I was on the show!” said James. He turned around, then turned back with the most soulless deadpan Dan had ever seen.

“Wow, that is absolutely brilliant,” he complimented. “Jim is quaking.”

Once the enthusiasm had died down a little, Johnny spoke up. “Can we hear Phil’s idea, too?”

Dan tried not to let that get to him. Johnny was one of Phil’s campers, so he didn’t know Dan very much yet and probably felt closer to Phil, so it made sense that he’d want to hear from Phil, but Dan had also really hoped they’d all just accept his idea. Deciding not to make a big deal out of it, he nodded. “Of course. Go for it, Phil,” Dan said, leaning back in his beanbag. 

“Okay, so remember our little discussion earlier about pancakes versus waffles? Well, I think we could do something about that, like a fun version of a friendly Romeo and Juliet story where the families are fighting about waffles and pancakes!”

The campers squealed in delight, nodding ecstatically. 

“Can we make it romantic still? Please, please, please!” Chris pleaded, hands clasped under his chin.

Phil laughed. “I mean, we’d have to establish some rules, like maybe no double suicide at the end and no kissing, but if you guys want to, go for it!” 

_Should I be worried about that? Chris is the one leading the charge when it comes to suspicion of my feelings for Phil. Surely that can’t be a coincidence, but what’s his goal?_ Dan thought as the campers all agreed that they would, indeed, make their pancakes versus waffles Romeo and Juliet story romantic.

“Will you guys be in the play, too?” asked Doris from Phil’s cabin, expression suspiciously innocent. Her eyes darted over to Chris’s briefly, and Dan realized she must be in on it.

_Damn. How far did this reach already? This is definitely a set-up._

As Dan’s eyes scanned the circle of campers, he saw that every single one of them had stopped whatever they had been doing, be it crafts or poking each other or even staring off into space, and were now eagerly looking from Dan to Phil and back again.

Dan looked over at Phil, who hadn’t responded yet, and was surprised at Phil’s expression. His cheeks were a soft pink and his mouth was opening and shutting around silence, as if he thought that by chewing the air he could answer the question and not have to deal with it anymore. 

_Wait, why is he acting like that? Did he come to the same conclusion as me?_ Dan’s eyes widened. _Does he know that our campers ship us?!_

When it became apparent that Phil would not respond without intervention, Dan scrambled to take over.

“Well, uh-” he cleared his throat, “-we can if you want, but it can’t be a main role. It’s supposed to be about you all showing off your talent and having fun on the stage, not us.”

The campers visibly deflated at that, which had Dan letting out a small sigh of relief and relaxing in his beanbag again. 

Until Chris spoke up again.

“Oh, you know what would be fun?” he began, smiling in a way that reignited Dan’s nerves. “We could have a character set up our Romeo and Juliet, you know? Like, that character introduces them, maybe, and then they’re the one negotiating with the pancakes and waffles to get them to come to better terms, and then Romeo and Juliet wind up together in the end!”

His peers burst out in excited ideas again, ready to get this plan underway.

 _Oh, dear god. This can’t be good._ Dan glanced at Phil out of the corner of his eye. He had stopped gaping like a fish, finally, but he seemed to be desperately trying to find a way to move on. Dan looked at the clock above the doorway and saw that it was just about time for them to head off to their first activity of the day. He looked back at Phil. _I guess being shipped with him isn’t the_ worst _thing. Them trying to get us together could end this argument, couldn’t it? Plus, I can’t deny that Phil is exactly my type and unbelievably attractive with that new haircut. It’s made him more confident, I think. Confidence is sexy on Phil, that’s for sure._

“Okay, well,” Phil finally said, having found his voice at long last. “This has been excellent brainstorming, but we have to go to our activities for the day. Keep thinking about what you might want to do more specifically because we’ll have more time to talk about it throughout the day, okay?” The campers nodded, and Phil continued, “Alright, then get your stuff and let’s go!” 

The kids jumped up and ran to put on their shoes as Dan and Phil quickly wrote down the main parts of the idea in their binders for future reference.

“Sorry they didn’t take your idea,” Phil said in a low voice as he wrote. “I really liked it, for the record.” 

Dan felt conflicted. On the one hand, he _was_ still upset about Phil’s comments on his maturity from earlier, and he was feeling a little hurt that his campers seemed to like Phil’s cabin and ideas so much better than his own. But on the other hand, he also knew that it wasn’t Phil’s fault, and he appreciated that Phil was trying to reassure him.

 _Don’t be an ass this time, okay, Dan?_ he told himself. He gave Phil a nod in acknowledgement and a quiet, “Thanks. Maybe next week.”

Together, they closed their binders and stood up, guiding the kids out of the cabin and down the path towards the archery range, where they’d have their first activity at camp.

~~~~~~~~~~

“That’s it, Jo, just like that. Keep your arm nice and straight, and fire when ready!” Dan encouraged. They had been doing archery for about fifteen minutes now, cycling through the kids to make sure everyone got a chance to try shooting the arrows. Jo had been having a bit of trouble, so Dan had stepped in to help them figure out how to hold the bow better.

They shot the arrow and hit the target, which was more than could be said for the last several attempts, and the nearest campers cheered. 

“There you go! You’re a natural,” Dan praised. He patted Jo on the shoulder. “Keep going, I’ll just check on the others a minute, okay?”

Jo nodded, grinning, then picked up another arrow from the ground quiver.

Dan turned and took stock of the rest of the group. His campers all seemed to be having no trouble, which boosted Dan’s pride a bit, since he was the one that taught them to shoot. Finally, he was doing something right.

Then he looked at Phil’s group and saw that they were having substantially more issues.

 _What’s Phil gone and done this time_ , he wondered, rolling his eyes internally. He walked over to the closest camper from Phil’s cabin, Jaime. 

“Hey, Jaime,” Dan greeted. He gestured at the bow and arrow in her hands. “How’s it going? Do you kinda know what you’re doing?”

She sighed in frustration, shrugging her equipment. “No. I keep shooting the ground instead of the target, and Phil’s instructions didn’t really make enough sense for me to fix it.”

“Oh? You know, from what I remember, Phil’s not too good at archery. He’s brilliant at other things, sure, but archery is definitely not one of his talents. I can show you how to do it, if you’d like?” Dan offered. 

It took him a moment to realize what he had said.

_Wait, did I just call Phil brilliant? What the hell! I can’t say that, she’s just gonna ship us more no-_

Jaime’s eyebrows wiggled suggestively. “Brilliant at other things, huh? Like what?”

 _Oh god_.

Dan spluttered, then gesticulated to try to distract her from his reaction. “Uh- well- um- he came up with the- uh- play idea? That you all liked? He’s- uh- he’s got a pretty creative mind, you know?”

Her eyes narrowed, but a smirk was still playing at her lips. “Uh-huh. Sure. He’s got a creative mind.”

_Why am I like this?_

“Yeah,” Dan concluded lamely. He coughed awkwardly, then continued. “Shall I- uh- teach you the archery thing now?”

”Yeah, sure,” she agreed. 

He showed her the proper stance and the motion she should use, then let her try it, adjusting her fingers for her as she went. 

“Yeah, there you go! Try it now.” Dan backed up to give her space to shoot.

It hit the target, and the campers cheered again.

“How did you do that?” asked Phil, perplexed. He was standing a few feet away, attempting to help Lainey. “I can’t seem to remember how to do it properly.” 

Dan shrugged. “I’m good at archery. What do you do? Like, can I see you shoot?”

“I guess,” Phil said. He set himself up to shoot, then let the arrow fly.

It sank almost directly into the grass in front of the target.

“I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong?” Phil wondered, turning to face Dan.

“Hmm, well I think I know your problem. Your stance is kind of off, which is messing with your aiming. Let me show you,” Dan suggested, walking over next to Phil. “You have to stand more like this,” he rotated Phil somewhat, “and your shoulders have to be a bit more- yeah, like that. Now, just-” Dan walked around so he stood behind Phil, resting his hands on Phil’s arms and guiding them into position. “Now look down the sights, breathe in, breathe out, and shoot.”

It took Phil a moment to respond to the instruction, and in that time Dan noticed a few things.

First, he was essentially hugging Phil. Second, his breath was fanning across Phil’s cheek and he had been whispering in Phil’s ear. Third, most of the campers had stopped what they were doing to watch Dan and Phil.

_I’m really not helping the rumours, am I._

And then Phil released the arrow, hitting the target at a near-bullseye.

“Oh my god,” Phil whispered. “Oh my god!” he yelled, jumping and spinning around in excitement. In his enthusiasm, however, he seemed to have forgotten how close Dan was.

Dan stumbled back right as Phil’s elbow slammed directly into his gut, feeling the wind get knocked out of him. He clutched his stomach as his breath wheezed out of him.

“Oh no! Are you okay? Oh my god, I am _so_ sorry!” Phil yelped, his expression full of concern. “Can I help? Does it hurt? What can I do?”

Dan finally regained enough breath to say, “You’re- you’re such a klutz!”

Phil’s face fell, going from worried to guilty in only a second.

“I really am sorry, you know. It was an accident,” Phil mumbled, looking down at his feet.

“Yeah, well,” Dan wheezed, “It really hurt. I’m just- I’ll just sit over on that log a minute. You guys keep going, though.” He hobbled over to a log on the edge of the archery clearing and sat down, catching his breath. 

Phil soon recovered from the guilt enough to get the campers to keep shooting their arrows, then walked over to Dan.

Dan’s breath had pretty much returned to normal, and the initial nausea was calming down quickly. 

“You don’t have to apologize again, Phil. It won’t do anything. Besides, I know it was an accident. You’re not coordinated enough to hurt somebody on purpose,” Dan said, glaring up at Phil. 

Phil flinched back at Dan’s harsh tone. “I’m sorry? I don’t- I don’t quite know what you want me to do. I can’t just stop being clumsy,” he whispered. He looked so vulnerable, his shoulders hunched and his head hanging, his face guarded.

Dan scoffed. “Yeah, I’m aware. Just. Be more careful. I don’t want to end up in hospital just because you trip at the wrong time or something.” He stood up, wincing slightly at the stretch in his abdominal muscles, then walked back over towards his campers to make sure they were having fun.

Not too long later, they were putting the archery equipment away and preparing for their next activity: free time. Dan was relieved that it was finally free time, as that meant the cabins would be dividing back up into their individual groups and picking an activity together. An hour and a half with no Phil sounded like _exactly_ what Dan needed just then.

His campers were a little sad to leave the other group, but they didn’t complain when they realized they’d see each other again at lunch. Dan was even willing to promise to let them sit at the same table again, even though it pained him somewhat, because at least he’d have some time with just his own campers.

The groups parted ways, Dan thinking he might have overheard Phil say something about doing crafts as he led his group towards their cabin. 

“Alright, guys, I have a plan for us already, but we have to stop at the cabin first,” he told them over his shoulder. He heard a few “okay”s from the campers, and nodded, satisfied that they had been listening at least somewhat.

The walk to the cabin was uneventful, but the campers lit up like a kid in a candy store when Dan told them what they needed from the cabin.

“Grab your swimsuits, we’re going to the beach!”

“Yes! I’m so ready to swim,” said Chloe.

“I _love_ swimming. If I could, I’d do it all day,” agreed Josh. 

The kids rushed to their drawers to grab their swimsuits, then dispersed to change. Dan followed suit, changing into swimming trunks in his private room in the cabin, then grabbing some sun cream and a towel before heading back to the main room of the cabin.

“Make sure you’re wearing actual clothes, too, we have a bit of a walk and the less exposed skin the better,” Dan explained. “You’ll be fine when we get to the water, but we have a bit of a hike to go on before we get there. Does everyone have their towels?”

The campers scrambled to grab what they needed, but soon were standing in an eager line in front of Dan, all smiling and ready to head out.

“Great,” Dan said with a smile and a satisfied nod. “Let’s go!” he cried, turning on his heel and marching out the door.

Dan’s cabin all cheered behind him and charged after him, speed-walking to keep up with his long legs.

To get to the beach, they had to take about a 10-minute walk through the woods. When campers weren’t there, Dan loved to walk down this trail, quietly enjoying nature before reaching the beach and sitting on a log with a good book. But he liked taking campers there, too; it brought a little life into the place, which Dan greatly appreciated. Sure, the quiet beach was serene, but the beach full of excitable teenagers reminded him of why he loved this camp as a whole: it gave so many kids _good_ memories, and he got to be a part of that.

While on the trail, Chloe walked next to Dan, peppering him with occasional questions, like “Why do you work here” and “Do you ever see any animals on the trails” and “What’s your favourite flower in these woods”. He was happy to answer, telling her all about the best parts of camp. 

She quieted down for a bit, though, just observing nature while they walked in companionable silence. Dan’s mind was just drifting off into a fantasy world of imagination when she spoke up again.

“Hey, Dan?” she asked, more tentative this time.

Dan glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, a little wary of her change in demeanour. “Yeah? What’s up?”

She glanced up at his face but quickly looked away when she realized he was watching him. 

“I- I just wanted to know,” she stuttered quietly, “how you knew you were gay? Er- sorry- not straight. You said you don’t really label yourself, right? God, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. Sorry. I-”

Dan chuckled softly. “No, no, it’s okay! I don’t label myself, but that’s just because I think it changes a lot. You never really finish figuring out who you are, so far as I can tell, so I’m just choosing to let it happen. Some days I think I might be straight because maybe I feel really attracted to a woman, but other days I feel really attracted to men. It’s all kind of in a state of flux, you know?” He looked down at Chloe, whose brow was furrowed as if she were deep in thought.

She nodded. “That makes sense, I think.”

“Now, if you want to know how I knew I was attracted to men kind of like how I’m attracted to women, that’s easy enough. It took me a while to realize it, but I was just a little slow on the uptake. Looking back, I really ought to have known earlier. I had the _biggest_ crush on this boy in my primary school class, but I didn’t know what it meant so I thought I just really wanted to be like him. I thought I was jealous of him,” Dan laughed at the memory, shaking his head. “I avoided him as much as I could while still trying to copy everything he did. Eventually, that faded, as he turned out to be a bit of a jerk, but the real one where I truly realized I like men was one day when I was talking to my best friend in secondary school. I just remember making him laugh really hard, which made me laugh, too, and I looked over at him and the sight of him laughing like that, because of _me_ , gave me such butterflies in my stomach. The only clear thought in my head was that I _really_ wanted to kiss him, and later that day I thought back on it and thought to myself _Hm, Dan, that’s pretty gay. What’s up with that?_ And the rest is history, as they say.” He glanced down at Chloe again, who was looking at him with wide, shining eyes. 

“What happened with that boy? Your best friend, you said,” she asked softly.

Dan looked back at the trail as a wave of memories rushed through him, from their first kiss to their first date to their first time and then the argument that ended it all. The argument that all centred around a pale-skinned, black-haired boy from summer camp.

 _They say you never forget your first love_ , he thought. _They’re definitely right_.

After a beat, he realized he had yet to answer Chloe’s question. He blinked the memories away, then cleared his throat, suddenly sticky with emotion.

“He was my first boyfriend. It didn’t work out, eventually, but we had a good run. We actually lasted a few years before breaking up,” he said as casually as he could manage. He wasn’t sure why the memories chose that moment to kick up some old emotions, but he tried to shrug it off. 

“I’m sorry,” offered Chloe. “That must have been rough.” At some point, she had picked up a leaf from the ground, and she was now methodically ripping pieces off.

Dan nodded. “It was, but, hey, it happens. I’ve moved on, so has he, and we’re better off for it. As humans, we’re all just waiting around for the right person, and someday we’ll find them, you know? I don’t really worry about it too much.”

Chloe hummed in agreement. “That makes sense. Thanks for telling me.” She sent him a soft smile. She had dimples on her cheeks, which Dan appreciated. He returned the smile, then focused back on the trail.

“Hey, Dan?” she asked again.

He hummed for her to continue.

“Do you think maybe you’ve found the right person? Like. You and Phil work really well together, and he seems happy around you,” she said innocently.

Dan stumbled over a root in the trail, barely catching himself before he could fall over.

_Why does everyone assume we’re together? I thought I was barely holding back my disgust at him and his habits!_

He didn’t want to crush Chloe, though. As wrong as she was, he couldn’t bring himself to correct her. He settled for something that wouldn’t confirm or deny her assumption.

“You really think we work well?” he asked carefully. Then he remembered the last part of her statement, and added, “And he seems happy around me?”

Chloe quickly turned her head to look at him again, nodding emphatically. “Of course! You two agree to do stuff so easily and you’re never fighting. You even both agreed about the pancakes! And, yeah, he’s happy around you! When he sees you, he smiles all fond at you and blushes and stuff!”

_Blushes? I haven’t noticed that before. What’s she talking about?_

“So, you know, he could be the right person you’ve been waiting for!” she concluded with a grin.

Dan gaped like a fish, unsure of how to respond. He looked around quickly, hoping for a distraction, and got lucky: the beach was in sight.

“Look, everybody!” he yelled. “There’s the beach right up ahead!” 

The campers gasped and began running down the remainder of the path.

“Oi, be careful! I know you’re excited but no pushing, tripping, or falling, got it?” His concerns, of course, fell on deaf ears. He rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. Luckily for him, Chloe had been one of the teens to lead the chaotic charge to the waterfront, sparing him from having to respond about Phil.

As he calmly followed after his rowdy teenagers, his mind wandered back to his conversation with Chloe.

 _Does he blush around me? I mean, I remember he was pretty flirty when we first met, but I thought that died pretty quickly at the end of camp that first year. Does he blush because he likes me, or is it an angry flush? And if he_ does _like me, what am I supposed to do? He’s the one who broke the communication down so completely, so is he planning to apologize? I’ve been so harsh on him since then- with good reason, of course, what he did was a dick move- so I’d be surprised if he’s willing to apologize. But what if he does? Am I willing to accept that? Am I willing to accept_ him _? I mean, there’s no denying that I find him unfairly attractive, but he can be so annoying, too. Maybe I should pay more attention to what he does_.

By the time Dan decided to set aside some of his years-long prejudice against Phil to get to know him better, he had reached the beach with his campers.

 _Okay, now it’s time to show them who’s_ really _the coolest counsellor_.

An exhausting, but fun, hour later, Dan had successfully regained the affections of his campers through games in the water and sandcastle building. Together, they had built the biggest sandcastle Dan had ever seen, featuring James as the base, his head poking out of a pile of sand surrounded by an impressively deep and functional moat.

Dan checked the time on his phone just after the group put the final touches on the castle.

“Great job, all of you! Everyone go stand in front of it for a picture, but carefully! I don’t want anyone stepping on James. Obviously, James, you should stay where you are,” Dan said, pulling up the camera on his phone. As soon as everyone was in place, he took a few pictures, having them start with normal expressions, then serious, then goofy. “Amazing, you can all see these photos later, okay?” Dan put his phone back in his pocket. “But now it’s time to head back for lunch, so go ahead and brush off all the sand from James, maybe dip yourself in the lake again to wash off some sand, and then let’s get ready to walk back!”

Everyone grumbled at having to leave the beach, but they also seemed excited at the promise of food. They quickly got their stuff together, then followed Dan back down the trail to the cabin. This time, Dan managed to avoid any questions about Phil and instead could talk about the many sandcastles he’d built over the years.

They stopped back at their cabin to change clothes from their swimsuits, then ran down to the mess hall just in time for lunch.

Dan and Phil had to sit next to each other again, although this time Phil had made sure Dan would sit on his left side so their elbows wouldn’t bump. Dan was grateful for that, but he also recognized that that left a camper to his left who might not be as courteous as Phil tried to be. 

_Oh, well. I’ll deal with it. Besides, this way I can start to assess what Phil’s feeling_.

In an effort to be nicer to Phil, Dan started the conversation.

“So, what did you have your campers do for free time?” he asked casually as their campers began to converse with each other, ignoring Dan and Phil entirely. 

Phil looked a little surprised at Dan’s interaction but recovered quickly. 

“Oh, we just did some crafts. There may or may not have been glitter involved, which may or may not have been a mistake,” Phil said, pointedly shifting his eyes back and forth as if checking for eavesdroppers. “But you didn’t hear that from me,” he added in a low voice, punctuating with a wink. Or, well. As close to a wink as Phil could get. It actually came out more like an awkward blink.

Dan laughed. “Was that supposed to be a wink? What a complete flop, oh my god.”

The smile on Phil’s face melted immediately, turning into something between a neutral expression and a frown.

_Shit, too much! He looks so upset, oh my god, why am I like this?_

“I- I mean, sorry. That was kind of harsh,” Dan backpedalled frantically. “I just wasn’t expecting it, it’s actually really endearing-”

“What did you do with your group, Dan?” Phil interrupted, forcefully cheery. 

“Uh- well, we walked over to the beach,” Dan explained. He told Phil about their adventures and promised to show him the pictures of the sandcastle after lunch, but everything he said felt robotic. He couldn’t help it; his brain was guilting him for how he made Phil feel at the winking comment while playing _It’s actually really endearing_ on a loop. Phil had _immediately_ closed off at Dan’s comment but recovered swiftly. Did that mean he was greatly bothered, or barely bothered? Was he just used to Dan insulting him and had found a way to deal with it? If the latter were true, then what could Dan do to fix that? He _hated_ the way Phil had changed so drastically when he’d only been laughing because he found Phil’s failed wink cute. That, of course, led him on another spiral of thoughts.

 _Cute?? Do I really think he’s cute? He’s hot, sure, I can admit that, but_ cute _? That’s got a whole new set of connotations. That’s like- that’s like_ dating _-level attraction, isn’t it? And we’re definitely not at that level. What’s wrong with me?_

The food came out of the kitchens again, this time in the form of sandwich fixings so everyone could build their own (lucky for Dan, as he wouldn’t have to worry so much about avoiding elbows). As the campers tucked in, Phil spoke up.

“So, after lunch, we have some planning time for our project. Have any of you had any ideas since this morning?” he asked as he selected some bread from the tray Dan passed him.

A few of the kids nodded eagerly, but Chris told them his ideas first.

“So we should make Romeo and Juliet have that person setting them up, right? Like we said this morning? Well, I think that person should be Cupid and instead of shooting arrows at _people_ he shoots it into food or something to kinda fit the pancakes and waffles thing.” He paused for a second, nodding to his own idea, but then perked up with another idea. “Ooh! And then we could see Cupid trying to set them up as best he can and fixing all their families’ problems with each other and that could mean we could call it ‘Operation Cupid’!” he concluded with a mischievous grin. Dan couldn’t be sure, but it seemed to be directed at the other campers, who seemed to all immediately jump on board.

“Ooooh!” “Yesssss!”

“That’s amazing, we _have_ to do that!”

Dan side-eyed Phil, trying to see if Phil had any idea what was going on. Clearly, they were missing something. All Dan could think of was the comment he’d heard that morning about some “Operation Cupid”, but he wasn’t sure what that was about. It had to be connected somehow, but how? The kids hadn’t known about their project yet, so what could it be?

Phil didn’t seem to know any more than Dan did. He shared Dan’s “What is happening” glance for a moment, then shrugged and turned back to the table.

_Well, at least he’s not concerned._

“Does anyone have any more ideas?” Dan asked. “We’ll have a whole chunk of time to talk about it, too, so don’t worry if nothing’s coming to you.”

For the rest of lunch, the kids pitched ideas, ranging from plot ideas to character ideas and from very serious to absolutely crazy. Soon enough, lunch was over, and they all headed over to Dan’s cabin to plan. 

Dan was a little nervous to show Phil’s campers his cabin. He remembered earlier that day how excited his own campers were to see Phil’s cabin, and he couldn’t help but think his own cabin might not get a similar reaction. It wasn’t as kid-friendly as Phil’s, what with the sterile, monochrome aesthetic and the lack of craft supplies. But he didn’t have time to really worry about it as the campers all marched right in.

Phil’s campers were much more subdued upon seeing Dan’s cabin than Dan’s campers had been when seeing Phil’s. While it didn’t really surprise Dan, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed at their lack of enthusiasm. He happened to like his cabin design a lot, and he had put a lot of thought into it, so it hurt that they weren’t acknowledging it. 

“The table is a triangle? I _love_ triangles!” exclaimed Maisie. She ran over to it to get a closer look.

 _Well, at least one of them likes some part of my cabin, I guess_ , Dan thought.

“Is that a gay pride flag?” asked Logan, a quieter member of Phil’s cabin. He was staring at it intently, like maybe if he stared at it long enough it would open up the mysteries of the universe to him.

Dan nodded. “This is a safe space for all sexualities and genders, and I wanted to make sure everyone knew it. It also means that anybody can come talk to me about it, if they want to or need to.” He smiled softly. “I never really had anyone to talk to, so I decided to be the someone for others.”

The campers all went to sit down, most of them ignoring Dan to chat among themselves, but Logan stayed staring at the flag for a moment longer. He nodded slightly, as if he found whatever he was looking for in the flag, then turned to Dan. 

“It’s cool,” he said quietly, then found a leather beanbag chair to sit in.

Dan felt his heart warm. Maybe Phil’s campers didn’t think his cabin was as cool as Phil’s, but he might have just helped a kid feel better in his own skin, and that had to count for something. 

Dan sat down next to Phil again, ready to get their planning for the short play underway, but Phil reached a hand under the table and poked his knee. When Dan looked at him quizzically, unsure if he should be amused or irritated, Phil leaned over slightly.

“The flag _is_ cool. I didn’t know you had it, but I’m happy to see it there,” he whispered. He leaned back quickly, addressing the group. “Alright, you crazy kids, what are we doing in our play?”

Dan couldn’t focus as the kids started to throw out their ideas again, too preoccupied with his own thoughts. He was fairly certain he was blushing like mad because Phil had caught him off-guard with a comment that he apparently needed to hear just then. It was a touching comment, and Dan found himself wondering why he insisted on being so irritated at Phil all the time.

He finally tuned back into the conversation as Johnny was explaining his idea for the characters.

“-so Cupid would just be kinda like a fangirl and then Romeo would be kind of angsty, like. He should be sort of grumpy, a bit of a loner. And Juliet should be really bubbly, always talking to people and trying to cheer them up. You know, like, opposites attract and stuff,” he suggested.

“Can we make it two guys? So more like Romeo and Julien?” suggested Chris. “Or two girls, so Robyn and Juliet?”

 _Wait a minute. Are they- surely not. Surely they’re not making me and Phil the main characters._ Dan’s eyes widened. _Operation Cupid. Oh my god. They totally are._ He glanced at Phil, but Phil didn’t seem to have noticed what was happening. He looked back at Chris, who was now smirking at him. _Oh god. This is all him_.

The campers all agreed to make it Robyn and Juliet, which Dan was thankful for. At least it wouldn’t be _too_ on-the-nose.

For the next hour, the kids came up with the story, deciding that Robyn and Juliet would first meet at a restaurant while eating French toast in disguise because their families would freak out if they saw them eating something other than waffles or pancakes, respectively. Cupid would then enter as an omniscient narrator, explaining how Robyn’s family loved waffles and Juliet’s loved pancakes and so the families feuded. Then Cupid would pick up a syrup jar, wave a wand at it, and pour syrup on the girls’ French toast, making them fall in love. It’d be a rocky start at first, since Juliet was so bubbly and Robyn liked peace and quiet, but they’d soon realize how much they had in common and fall in love. Meanwhile, their families would continue to religiously insist on waffles or pancakes, until Robyn and Juliet decided they couldn’t hide their love anymore and told their families. It would take some convincing and a little intervention on Cupid’s part, but the families would agree to put aside their pancake and waffle prejudices for the good of their families.

It was quirky and funny and luckily different enough from Dan and Phil that Dan wasn’t worried anymore. Sure, it would be a little uncomfortable for him, but Phil probably wouldn’t notice, and that’s all that really mattered. 

Except then the campers picked the brown-haired Jaime to be Robyn and the black-haired Chloe to be Juliet, and Dan couldn’t help but feel like it was an intentional resemblance to him and Phil. But what could he do? This was the kids’ project, and telling them to do something else would be rude. So he let it happen, still hoping Phil wouldn’t make the connection. 

“We have to go to our next activity now, guys,” said Dan. The campers groaned in disappointment, and Dan held up his hands in a placating gesture. “I know, I know, you’re having fun planning your play, but there’ll be plenty of time for that later. Don’t you want to go canoeing down the river?”

That had the kids perking back up instantly.

“Yeah, and we might even get to go swimming after, if you’re lucky,” Phil added with a smile. “So we all have to change into swimsuits now. My cabin, let’s go! We’ll meet up with Dan’s cabin at the docks.”

Everyone got up from the table and left in a flurry of movement, Dan’s campers rushing to grab their own swimsuits, still wet from their swim earlier that day, as Phil led his campers out the door.

Soon enough, both groups were waiting on the docks, pairing off into the canoes and listening to the safety instructions before hopping into their canoes and setting off down the river.

Dan and Phil, of course, had to be in a canoe together at the back, in part to make sure no stragglers were left behind, but also to be able to better keep an eye on the group.

Dan had known this was coming, of course, but he still wasn’t too thrilled about it. He may have been warming up to Phil, but that didn’t mean he was ready to spend a few hours in close quarters with him.

“Front or back?” Dan asked Phil, gesturing at the canoe. 

Phil shrugged. “I’ll take the back.” He moved to get into the canoe. “I have the tendency to accidentally splash backwards a lot,” he added sheepishly, blushing slightly.

“Dodged a bullet, then, did I?” Dan stepped into the canoe carefully, sitting down in the front. “Although there _is_ an unfortunate lack of legroom up here.”

They pushed off from the shore and followed after their campers.

Dan prided himself on his ability to properly power a canoe and was especially certain of his navigational skills. His job in the front was to use those skills to make sure they didn’t crash into anything, calling back directions to Phil when necessary. Unfortunately for the two of them, Dan may have been a little overconfident, and Phil may have been a little too uncoordinated for this activity to work out well.

Within thirty feet of the docks, Dan was already desperately yelling directions back to Phil.

“Left! Left! Left! We have to go left! That’s right, you buffoon, we’re about to- crap,” Dan groaned. They had steered directly into a patch of seaweed, which grabbed hold of their canoe and refused to let go.

“Sorry?” Phil offered in a squeaky voice. “I’m not too good at my rights and lefts.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Really? I hadn’t noticed. Alright, let’s get out of this. Rock backwards on the count of three and maybe our momentum will carry us out of this mess. One, two, _three_.”

Their momentum did not carry them out of the mess. In fact, Dan eventually had to get out of the canoe and into the water to push the canoe out of the messy patch. 

_God, I hate seaweed. Why is it so slimy? This is the worst. I might actually kill Phil, and we’ve only been on this river for ten minutes._

Eventually, Dan, dripping wet, got back into the canoe, which was now finally able to move again. 

“Next time, I’ll just point with my arms and have you follow that, got it?” he called back to Phil.

“Yeah,” came the reply. Dan couldn’t be sure, but Phil sounded a little off.

 _Is he okay? Do we need to stop the canoe somehow? Is he ill?_ He glanced behind him.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine,” Phil said. He _definitely_ sounded off.

_What’s the matter with him? Did I do something wrong? It’s not like he’s in any place to be upset, he’s not the one that had to get out of the canoe and push! Ugh, whatever._

They paddled onwards in silence for a few minutes, until Phil finally spoke up.

“I- um. This is kind of awkward, and you might already know, but, um. If you don’t, I just- I think you should know,” he began awkwardly.

_What the hell?_

“What is it?” Dan asked warily. “You’re not about to be sick, are you?”

“What? No!” Phil yelped. “I just- our campers ship us.”

 _Oh, god, he knows, too._

“You know, like, they either think we’re already together or that we _should_ be, and-”

“I know what shipping means, Phil,” Dan said forcefully. He dug his paddle into the water a little more forcefully than necessary, spraying Phil by accident. He murmured a quiet, “sorry,” before continuing. “They wanted the play to imitate us, kind of,” Dan told him.

“You knew?” Phil asked. He sounded surprised.

“Of course I knew, I’m not an idiot! Have you _seen_ all the looks Chris has been giving me? It’s ridiculous.”

Phil was quiet for a moment, so Dan thought that must be the end of it. But then he spoke up again.

“Yeah, it is pretty ridiculous,” he mumbled. 

_What is with him today? He’s all melancholy._

They continued in silence for a while, only speaking when Dan needed to give directions. Luckily, Phil didn’t have any more directional mishaps once Dan started communicating with his arms as well as words.

That is, until Phil stopped responding.

They’d been going straight for a while, but there was a tricky bend in the river with some foliage in the way on one riverbank and rocks on the other.

“Bit right,” Dan informed, sticking out his right arm as an indicator.

Nothing happened. They kept on their straight course.

“Phil, we need to go a bit right,” he tried again.

When still nothing happened, Dan huffed and turned in his seat to look at Phil.

“Phil! Are you even listening?”

Phil jumped. “What? Sorry, I think I zoned out.” He looked around to get his bearings, then froze as he looked down the front of their canoe. “Oh my god.”

Dan’s eyebrows furrowed. “What?” He turned around just in time for the front of their canoe to ram directly into some rocks.

“Agh!” Dan yelped as the momentum carried him forward. He heard Phil yell, too, but didn’t have time to think before the force of the current was rotating them and pulling them sideways into the foliage on the other bank of the river. When the world finally stopped spinning, Dan realized they were very much stuck, and no amount of rocking back and forth would get them out.

“Are you okay?” Phil groaned. 

“Oh, I’m fine, except for being stuck in a bunch of trees and bushes,” Dan replied sarcastically. “This totally could have been avoided if you’d just been listening to me, but no, you had to go and zone out at the worst moment.”

“I’m sorry-”

“Yeah, whatever. You’re getting out and pushing, this time,” Dan insisted.

“Are you sure about that?” Phil asked carefully. “Whenever I try to get in and out of canoes, I destabilize the whole thing a lot.”

Dan nodded and crossed his arms. “You’re getting out. It’ll be fine.”

Shortly thereafter, he felt the canoe wobble drastically as Phil pulled himself out into the water. He threw his hands out to grasp the edges of the boat.

“Be careful!” he scolded, crossing his arms again.

Phil didn’t respond. Instead, he got down to business, pushing the canoe as hard as he could to get it out of the trees.

That part of the plan went off well enough, the canoe only taking on a small amount of water. The next part of the plan, however, did not fare so well.

Phil reached for the edges of the canoe to hoist himself in, but he pulled too hard. Suddenly, Dan was flipping over with a yelp, falling directly into the water as the canoe tipped entirely upside down.

Dan resurfaced moments later, spluttering and coughing. 

“What the hell, Phil?” he hissed.

“I’m sorry!” Phil exclaimed. “I told you I’m bad at that part!”

Dan snorted. “Oh, so now it’s _my_ fault that you tipped the canoe? Yeah, right. C’mon, we have to flip it back. Or are you bad at that part, too?”

Phil shrank back at Dan’s words, and Dan felt a small twinge of guilt. Maybe he was being a bit harsh.

 _He’s literally a camp counsellor, it’s his job to know how to get in a canoe without tipping it. What if one of our campers were injured or in trouble right now? We’d have lost our most effective way of getting to them, and who knows what the consequences of that would be? This isn’t too harsh. It might not even be harsh enough_.

Together, they righted the canoe. Dan held carefully onto the edge and told Phil to climb in, then demonstrated how easily he could get into canoes, sending a pointed look at Phil. Phil looked down, refusing to make eye contact. He looked like a lost puppy, and Dan felt the guilt come back again. He shook it off as best he could, choosing instead to focus on the last leg of their canoeing journey.

They reached the beach where the group was supposed to meet up without any more difficulties. Dan wordlessly got out of the canoe and helped Phil pull it up onto the sand, then turned to their campers, plastering a hopefully-convincing fake smile on his face.

“We still have a bit of time before dinner, so go ahead and swim for a bit or build sandcastles or whatever you want,” he told them. He started to turn to check that the canoes were all securely on the shore and wouldn’t float away, but something occurred to him. “Within reason, obviously. Be safe and smart, got it?” 

“Yes, Dad,” Chris teased. 

Dan rolled his eyes. “Oh, whatever,” he laughed.

Satisfied that the kids would be alright for a minute, Dan checked the canoes. He pulled a few farther up on the beach, then sat down in some sand to relax, keeping a watchful eye over the campers. 

It always made him happy to see the campers bonding. None of them knew each other before this camp, but they all left as friends after only a few short days. Dan liked to think he had a hand in that. It was clear to see the campers’ connection as they played around in the water and on the beach, laughing as they splashed each other and raced across the sand. Everyone was included in the fun in some way. Dan wished he had had an experience like that as a kid, but it warmed his heart that he got to witness it for others.

He saw Phil sit down next to him, crossing his legs in front of him. Neither of them said anything for a while, as if they were both trying to decide if it was worth it to try to say anything. Dan was still irritated about the canoe, so he wasn’t even sure what he _could_ say without starting another argument, and he didn’t want to start something so near the kids. 

“I’m sorry about the canoe,” Phil whispered eventually. He was looking down at his hands, which were picking up and spilling sand over and over.

“So you’ve said,” Dan replied, watching Phil’s hands, too. He didn’t know what to say. Phil should have been paying enough attention that they didn’t get stuck and he should have known how to get into the canoe without tipping it, but he didn’t. His incompetence could have had terrible consequences for the kids. Dan recognized that Phil hadn’t meant to for it to happen, of course. He knew Phil would never intentionally endanger the kids, but it still happened, and Dan couldn’t get over the thought of what could have happened as a result. He looked at his watch. “The bus to bring the canoes back to camp will be here soon. We should get them ready to load up,” he said, standing up. He held out a hand to help Phil up, which he accepted.

Not long later, the bus pulled up to the beach. They put the canoes into the trailer on the back, then rounded the kids up and into the bus. Dan sat in the back with some of his campers, while Phil took the front.

“How was your boat ride?” Chris asked Dan with a wink as the bus set off.

Dan snorted. “It was a canoe, not a gondola down the canals of Venice. It was alright. It’s good to sit quietly in nature sometimes, you know?”

Chris wrinkled his nose. “That sounds awful.”

Dan barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “One day, you’ll appreciate it, believe me.”

“Did you and Phil enjoy each other’s company, then?” asked Chloe. “It must have been kind of romantic, right?”

Dan choked on some spit. _Wow, getting direct with the questions, are we?_ “I- you- it was just canoeing! That- I-” 

Chris smirked. “That’s definitely a yes, then.” He high-fived Chloe. “Do you two have canoe dates often?” 

Spluttering, Dan tried to salvage some of the conversation. “What?! No, we don’t even- We’re not- and that’s so unprofessional- and just-”

“Time for dinner!” Phil called from the other end of the bus. The vehicle ground to a slow halt in front of the mess hall.

_Oh, thank god._

“Yes, right, dinner! Go on, get a move on!” Dan urged his campers. 

Dan stood at the back as his campers moved down the aisle ahead of him, then followed after the last of them, who, of _course_ , just _had_ to be Chloe.

Just before they got off the bus, Chloe turned around. “You two are really cute together,” she whispered conspiratorially. 

Dan was pretty sure his cheeks could not get any redder than they already were. “Come on, let’s get to dinner,” he insisted, ignoring her compliment.

 _How can these kids even think that? We so clearly hate each other_ , he thought as he walked into the mess hall. _I know we’re trying to play nice, but there’s only so much we can do and I’m sure it’s not convincing_.

Yet again, Dan had to sit next to Phil, much to his displeasure. The tension between them was still thick enough to cut, and Dan’s encounter with his campers certainly would not help.

He moved his chair as far from Phil’s as possible and refused to look at him for most of the meal, instead engaging with some of the quieter campers. He wasn’t sure he could handle Chris or Chloe just then.

Luckily, they let him off the hook while they ate. 

He and Jo had a lovely conversation about their favourite activities to do at the beach, with Josh and Maddie jumping in occasionally. He was vaguely aware of Phil talking to other campers, but he wasn’t really paying any attention to what they were saying. Phil could do whatever he liked, so long as it didn’t involve Dan. 

After dinner, they had some more free time. Dan wanted to separate the groups again, but the kids begged them to stay together, and Dan relented. His preferences came second to theirs, and just because he didn’t want to deal with Phil just then didn’t mean he could hijack free time. 

They all went to the game room together. The game room was a building next to the mess hall, complete with a rock climbing wall, gym, foosball tables, and ping pong. Naturally, the kids went crazy at the opportunity to run around for a few hours. Dan played some foosball with Josh, Lainey, and Logan for a while, then a ping pong tournament began, Dan’s cabin versus Phil’s.

Dan laughed and cheered along as his campers all played ping pong in the most intense tournament he’d ever seen. The kids were going all-out, even though most of them didn’t particularly know how to play ping pong. After an hour of serious gameplay, Maisie finally came out on top, just barely beating Marissa. 

The crowd roared, Phil’s cabin jumping around Maisie in support as Dan’s cabin patted Marissa on the back, congratulating her on a game well-played, even though she didn’t win.

In the commotion, Dan glanced over and saw Phil laughing and smiling along, and his heartbeat quickened. Phil looked so _happy_ , with his face-splitting grin and his tongue poking out of his teeth just a little, and the crow’s feet crinkling around his eyes. Dan’s breath caught as he registered just how handsome Phil looked. He’d always thought Phil was attractive, of course, but it hadn’t really hit him as strongly as it did just then.

_These kids have gotten to me. They’re making me all sappy._

“See something you like?” Chris asked him loudly.

Dan’s head jerked to the side to see Chris staring at him, a smug expression on his face. He felt his cheeks burning, and looked away quickly, letting out an awkward cough. 

“Yeah, I see some happy campers. That’s why I do this job- to make people happy,” Dan said, looking around the room with a smile that hopefully would cover up how Dan had definitely just been staring at Phil for way too long to be normal.

“Why haven’t you asked him out yet?” Chris pushed.

_Well, that didn’t work._

The campers around Dan all stilled and looked up at him, desperate to hear his answer. 

Dan scrambled for a distraction, a way out, _anything_ besides telling them _Well, we actually hate each other. You see, Phil broke up the best relationship of my life and didn’t even have the decency to text me back_.

“You guys are really hilarious sometimes,” he stalled. He looked down at his watch; it was time to go to the campfire. _Thank god._ “But we have to leave so we can get good seats at tonight’s campfire! Come on, let’s get going!” 

He began herding his campers out the door and overheard Phil directing his kids to follow behind.

_I really need to avoid him more. These kids are getting the complete wrong idea, which I don’t appreciate, and Phil still hasn’t apologized. He hasn’t explained why he’d just stop talking to me like that, and that’s not okay. I need to back off the friendliness and the… staring, or whatever it is. Yes, he’s attractive, but he was also a dick and I need to remember that. Don’t I?_

As Dan walked with his campers to the fire, he distracted them by telling them he’d heard a rumour that s’mores would be at the campfire. That certainly worked; apparently, sugar was way more interesting than Dan’s nonexistent love life. Their disinterest in him allowed him to think some more about Phil.

_He was a dick. He promised to text me, he promised to call me. We made sure we had the right numbers and everything, so there’s no way he couldn’t have received the messages. His phone number is still the same as what’s in my contacts from way back then, too, so what the hell? We were hitting it off so well at camp, so why didn’t he ever respond? That was such a dick move._

Dan shook his head in disgust at the memories flooding his head. He could remember coming home and immediately texting Phil to let him know, then waiting, phone in hand, for _hours_ for a response that never came. He remembered sending Phil pictures he thought would make Phil smile, texts to ask how he was, calls to really make sure it was the right number. No one ever responded but Phil’s voicemail. Dan had talked to his boyfriend about it, obviously upset that his friend had turned out to be an asshole, but then his boyfriend broke up with him for caring too much about _That Phil guy_. Dan remembered crying for _hours_ about Phil, about his boyfriend, about the betrayals of his trust. 

But when Dan looked at Phil now, he only saw a happy, honest man who constantly tried to make kids as happy as him. Really, that’s how Phil had always looked to Dan. Phil looked so _kind_. So what went wrong?

_He has to apologize, and I have to know the story. He has to tell me what happened._

Dan glanced at Phil out of the corner of his eye. Phil was a little behind him, holding up the rear of the line of their campers. 

_But what if he doesn’t remember? What if he didn’t apologize at first because he still felt guilty but now he’s forgotten entirely? He’ll never know to apologize, then. But how could he forget such a thing? It just doesn’t make sense. Maybe I should approach him, first, because it’ll just never happen otherwise._

“Dan was right, there _are_ s’mores!” Josh’s cry broke Dan out of his thoughts. They’d arrived at the campfire. 

Just like the night before, Dan and Phil wound up on a log together at the edge of the campfire’s circle while their students all hung around each other.

Dan sighed. He didn’t want to have a real conversation with Phil, but he was coming to terms with the fact that a discussion would be necessary, and he would probably have to initiate it. 

For the time being, however, he decided to sit in silence, hands folded in his lap, and wait to see if Phil would say anything.

He didn’t have to wait long.

“So, today’s been interesting, hasn’t it?” Phil said rhetorically. He was staring intently into the fire, his face expressionless. “I really am sorry about the canoe, you know. I know I should know how to manage a canoe better by now, especially with the counsellor responsibility. Someone could get hurt.”

Dan looked up in surprise. He hadn’t expected Phil to still be thinking about it.

“Well, I mean,” he started. He struggled to find the right words. “You’re not wrong. Someone could get hurt, and you ought to know by now. But I do accept your apology. Nobody can be good at everything all the time, so you’ll just have to work at it some more, I guess.” He paused, watching as Phil nodded, still looking into the fire. “I- um.” Dan cleared his throat. “I could help you, if you want. Like. In the time between this group and the next, you know? Only if you want though.”

Phil finally looked over at Dan, and Dan felt his heart ache. Phil looked so hopeful, but with a distinct undercurrent of disappointment and sadness. Dan wished he could take those feelings away.

“You’d really do that?” Phil whispered. “Even if I knock you into the water again?”

Dan snorted. “I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t prepared to meet a watery end. You need help, and I think I’m pretty good at it, so, yeah, I’ll help you.” He let out a short laugh again. “Besides, if I don’t help you now, who knows how many _more_ times I’ll flip into the water.”

A small smile played on Phil’s lips. Dan’s heart soared at the realization that he put it there for once, rather than taking it away. 

_This could happen all the time, you know_ , whispered a voice in Dan’s head. _You just have to talk about it_.

He sighed again, running a hand through his curly hair before dropping it back on his lap. He stared into the fire. “This is nice,” he said. “Like. Just sitting here, talking. Not arguing for once.”

He saw Phil nod his head out of the corner of his eye.

“I want- I want it to happen more. I-” Dan let out a frustrated huff. “I want to stop arguing with you so much, but I think we need to talk through some stuff.” He picked at his fingernails, avoiding Phil’s gaze. 

“Are you willing to talk?” Phil asked tentatively. “Obviously, we can’t here, because the campers will keep us sort of busy, but later tonight, maybe?”

Dan nodded. “We need to talk. I guess we could sneak out of our cabins after lights-out and talk then?”

“Yeah. That works,” Phil mumbled. “It’ll be good to fix this. I miss us being friends.”

Dan felt a twinge of pain at that but hid it well. _I miss us being friends, too. Why didn’t you talk to me at all that summer?_

“Me, too,” he said instead.

A few minutes passed in silence, and then the campfire songs began.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Phil?” Dan whispered, working his way down the path towards his co-counsellor’s cabin. It was after lights-out, and Dan was on the way to meet up with Phil.

“Dan, I’m over here,” Phil whispered back.

Dan quickly looked to his right, startled, and saw Phil standing between some trees.

Phil beckoned to him. “Come on, I know where we can meet.”

Dan followed close behind for a few minutes, until they emerged in a small clearing surrounding a fallen tree. Phil sat on the tree, then patted the spot next to him for Dan to fill. He took a seat.

Neither one spoke for a moment, both unsure of how to start and feeling awkward about the situation as a whole. Dan didn’t know what Phil was looking at, as he was staring at the ground in front of him as if it would somehow tell him what to do.

 _You can’t sit out here all night, so you’d better just say something_ , Dan thought. 

He took a deep breath, then began.

“So, um. I’m just gonna- like- I don’t know. I guess I’ll explain why I’ve been upset at you for so long? Because it seems like you don’t know.” He took another breath, grounding himself before continuing. “After that first year of camp, we said we’d talk. We had each other’s numbers, made sure they worked and everything, and went home. I texted you, but you never responded. I texted you so many times, and- and it was like I didn’t exist.” He looked up at Phil from under his eyelashes. “Why didn’t you respond?”

Phil had been looking at his hands but raised his head to look at Dan. They made eye contact briefly, but Phil looked away quickly, instead looking somewhere close to Dan’s ear.

“I’m sorry,” he began, “I shouldn’t have ignored you.”

Dan snorted humorlessly. “Well, yeah, clearly. But I just want to know. Why’d you do it?”

Phil sighed. “Do you remember much about that first year you were here? How we got along so well?”

Dan nodded. “Of course I do.”

Phil took a deep breath. “I really liked you. Like, really liked you. You were smart, and funny, and good with the kids, and I- I didn’t stand a chance, honestly, you were exactly the kind of guy I was looking for.” He paused, looking up at the sky just poking through some of the branches of the trees above them. "I'm sorry, this is kind of hard to admit," he said in a rush. "It's a little embarrassing, really. I had this crush on you, but then you told me about your boyfriend just before the end of the summer, and I knew I had to stop. I knew that if I kept talking to you, I wouldn't be able to keep my feelings under control and I didn't want to do anything to affect your relationship, so I stopped talking to you. I know, that's really not a good way to handle it, but- I just. Yeah. It was the best idea I could come up with. And then I kept avoiding you when you were getting mean the next year, and I still liked you and didn't want to make things weird, and just. Yeah. So I'm sorry, I shouldn't have handled it like that."

_This whole time, he wasn't talking to me because he liked me?_

"I can't imagine that you-" Dan cleared his throat, "that you still like me, right? I've been such a dick to you for so long."

Phil shrugged. "It doesn't matter. I won't let myself get in between you and your boyfriend."

Dan's eyebrows scrunched up in confusion. "Wait. Do you not know?"

Phil finally looked at Dan again, also confused. "Not know what, exactly?"

"My boyfriend from back then broke up with me that summer. I haven't been dating anyone since then."

Phil blinked. "Really? This whole time?"

Dan nodded slowly. "This whole time. After that summer at camp, I got home and wouldn't shut up about you. It started out as me just telling my boyfriend about all the fun things we did together, but eventually, it turned into more frustration because you wouldn't answer my texts. Somehow, my idiot boyfriend got it into his head that I liked you more than him and that you were somehow a threat to our relationship. I'm not sure how he got there, really," Dan wondered aloud. "I literally wasn't even talking to you, and he knew that, but he kept worrying. Whatever. So, yeah, we broke up after that summer."

"Oh," Phil said. He looked to be lost in thought. "But why were you such a dick to me? And so persistently, like. That was _years_ ago now. I understand why you were upset, but why'd it take so long for us to just... talk it out?"

Dan cringed, remembering a few of their arguments from over the years.

"I'm sorry about that, by the way. I shouldn't have treated you like that." He gathered his thoughts for a moment. "I think I got myself hung up on the fact that, before I met you, my boyfriend and I were happy. We had been a couple throughout school, and nothing like this had ever come up. But then it did. And he broke up with me for it." Dan sighed. "It wasn't even my fault, you know? I didn't do anything wrong besides vent my frustrations, sometimes a little excessively. I definitely blamed you, though. I was angry that you didn't respond, and then I was angry that you indirectly caused the end of my relationship. It wasn't fair to you, really, because it was my ex's choice to dump me over it, but it still hurt." Dan took a deep breath in and let it out in a whoosh. "And so I decided that if you didn't want to be friends with me, I wouldn't be friends with you. But you were still the same old Phil the next year, funny and nice all the time, and the only way I could handle you was to distance myself from you. I wanted you to explain and apologize, but you just carried on as if nothing were wrong. And I guess that's kind of stuck with me this whole time, until we were forced to interact again this year, and now I'm remembering just how nice you are. Because of this whole drama, I think I built up this perception of you in my mind that, now that we've been hanging out so much, doesn't have any truth to it. I'm really sorry for my behaviour, though. I really should have just talked to you sooner, but I didn't." Dan looked up at Phil through his eyelashes.

"I'm sorry," Phil said again. "I tried to stay away from you so you wouldn't break up with your boyfriend, since you'd always spoken so fondly of him, but it happened because of me anyway. And I'm sorry I acted like nothing happened. I don't think I wanted to face my feelings, or yours, I guess."

Dan nodded. "I forgive you. Thank you for apologizing. I'm sorry I didn't try to talk about it sooner. I should have, but I was too proud to try."

Phil shrugged again. "I forgive you, too. I could've at least said something."

Silence fell on them again for a few minutes.

"So, where does that leave us?" Dan asked. "I'd like to try to be friends again, but I know I must have hurt you a lot over the years."

Phil nodded. "Yeah, you did. We haven't really brought the best out of each other in years, have we? I'd like to try to be friends again, too."

"Good. So, tomorrow we'll carry on like normal, but actually talk to each other? And not like we're stepping on eggshells around the campers?" Dan suggested.

"Yeah, we don't have to pretend to like each other anymore."

"That sounds really nice." Dan smiled at Phil, sending him a genuine smile that he hoped would only be the first of many.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, most of their activities had to do with the play. They put the finishing touches on the script, then began building their sets out of cardboard boxes, construction paper, and glue.

Dan and his campers worked on the props together while Phil and his campers made the set.

This gave the kids ample time to tease Dan without Phil around.

"You and Phil seemed to be even closer this morning, somehow," commented Chris.

Chloe nodded. "Yeah, what was up with that?" She wiggled her eyebrows at Dan from over her construction paper rose. "Did it have anything to do with you leaving the cabin last night?"

All of Dan's campers froze, looking up between Dan and Chloe.

"... What?" asked Marissa.

"I'm a light sleeper, so I heard Dan leave the cabin last night a little after lights-out. It was _super_ suspicious," Chloe drawled mischievously. 

Dan coughed. "No, that's-" he coughed again. "That was because I- um- I needed to talk to Louise, the woman running the administrative stuff? She had some- um- administrative things to talk about for next week."

_That was the least believable lie you've ever told, Dan._

"Suuuuure," Chris drawled exaggeratedly. "A likely story. Administrative things after lights-out? That makes _total sense_.”

_You don't have to explain yourself to these teenagers. Change the subject. Talk about the play, maybe?_

"So, how do you all feel about how Operation Cupid is coming along?" Dan cringed as soon as he said it, remembering that their play's name was also apparently the name for the project his campers had set up to get him and Phil together. _Why is my life so hard?_

"Oh, it's coming along _very_ well, I think," teased Chloe with a wink. 

Dan's cheeks were bright red, and he coughed again. It looked to be a long day.

~~~~~~~~~~

An excruciating hour and a half later, they had an activity planned: ziplining. That would make it very difficult for Dan's campers to interrogate him on a relationship that was barely back to _friendship-levels._

_Thank fuck for that._

Dan and Phil's campers met back up as they walked towards the zipline and chatted excitedly. Dan was pretty sure he heard something about Operation Cupid again, but definitely not the play this time, as someone (probably Chris) said, "No, not the play, you dummy! Why would we be so excited about that?!"

"What's got them all worked up?" Phil asked in a low voice.

Dan groaned. "They found out I left the cabin for a bit last night and I didn't have a convincing lie ready so they all think we talked." Dan paused. "Or maybe they think we were just, I don't know, making out in the woods or something. I wouldn't put it past them.

Phil snorted. "Teenagers. What can you do?"

Dan shrugged. "Distract and hope for the best?"

"Exactly!"

They laughed together, and Dan noticed how nice that felt, laughing with Phil. He took a mental picture of Phil laughing, too, and appreciated the way Phil's tongue stuck out from between his teeth.

The group made it to the zipline a few minutes later, and they all got in line to go on. 

One by one, the kids rocketed down the zipline, screaming in delight, until there were only two campers left: Maisie and Lainey, both Phil's campers. 

Lainey seemed to be having some difficulties.

"Hey, what's wrong, Lainey?" Phil asked gently. 

"She's afraid of heights," Maisie told him. 

"I'm like, _really_ afraid of heights," Lainey agreed. She was staring at the zipline like she'd seen a ghost. "Like, _really_ afraid."

Phil immediately tried to reassure her. "You don't have to go on the line if you don't-" 

"No, no, I want to," Lainey said. She looked up into Phil's eyes, determined. "I've never done one before, but everyone always talks about how fun it is, and I will do it this time." She took a step closer to the edge of the board she'd have to jump from and swallowed heavily. "I just might need a second."

"That's perfectly fine," Phil assured her. "Maisie, you can go on down. Dan will get you all set."

Dan, who had been watching the scene unfold from next to the line, jolted at the mention of his name, then nodded quickly. "Yeah, come on over, Maisie."

Maisie glanced at Lainey, unsure for a moment. Lainey nodded to encourage her to go, so Maisie shrugged. Soon enough, she was speeding down the line with a scream of joy.

Dan looked back over to Phil and Lainey. They were speaking in hushed tones now, so Dan wasn't quite sure what they were talking about, but he gathered that Phil was gently hyping Lainey up.

After a few minutes, Lainey carefully approached the line with Phil, who was holding her hand.

Dan backed up to let Phil take his place next to the line, then helped him hook Lainey onto the zipline.

"It'll be super fun, I promise," Phil said. "And you'll be totally fine. Just take a couple deep breaths."

Lainey nodded, taking as deep of breaths as she could.

"I know I'm supposed to jump off the edge myself, but I really don't think I can," she confessed.

"That's okay!" Phil replied immediately. "I can give you a push, whenever you're ready."

Lainey nodded again and took another deep breath.

"I think it's best if I don't know when it's coming. Could one of you distract me while the other pushes?"

"Of course," said Dan. "What's your favourite superhero movie?"

"Oh, that's a hard question. Probably- AHH!" she screamed as Phil gave her a quick shove off the platform.

Dan smiled as it quickly changed from a scream of terror to a shriek of adrenaline-powered fun. He looked over at Phil to see him smiling fondly over to where another counsellor was helping Lainey off the zipline.

"You're really good at that," Dan commented. "You helped her a lot."

"Hmm?" Phil hummed, glancing at Dan. "Oh, yeah, I guess. I just know what it's like, you know? It took me forever to get on the zipline, so I'm glad my experience could help her."

_He really is just that nice. He's such a good guy._

"Do you wanna zip down, too?" Phil asked. "You can go first, if you want."

Dan smiled. "Definitely."

~~~~~~~~~~

That night at dinner, Dan sat next to Logan from Phil's cabin. They had a fun conversation about aliens and superheroes and the universe for a while, but Logan got quieter as time went on. He'd answer slower and slower, not as sure of his own answers, it seemed.

Finally, Dan decided to address it.

"Logan, is everything okay?" he asked in a low voice, trying to keep the other campers from overhearing.

"Hmm?" Logan hummed. "Sorry, I zoned out. I- um- I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about? In private, though, if that's okay? It doesn't have to be now, either, it can wait a bit."

Dan frowned. "Yeah, that's fine. We could take a little extra time getting to the campfire, if you want? Does that sound alright?"

Logan nodded.

"Is it okay if Phil's there, too, or just me?"

"I- um- just- just you, if that's okay," Logan stuttered, blushing. "I'd rather it be with fewer people, I don't know."

"That's fine! Whatever you want," Dan reassured with a smile.

Logan smiled in response. "Thanks, Dan."

Before they all left for the campfire, Dan leaned over to whisper in Phil's ear. "Hey, Logan wanted to talk to me alone, so we'll just be a little behind you guys on the way there, okay?"

Phil nodded. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, he said he's fine, but it seemed important."

"Of course. I'll keep the rest of these little minions busy while you two talk," Phil said, gesturing at the pack of campers quickly moving towards the mess hall's exit.

"Great, thanks," Dan replied. He turned to see Logan still next to him. "Alright, let's walk and talk, if that's okay with you?"

Nodding, Logan followed a little behind and to the left of Dan.

When they were out in the fresh air, Dan spoke up.

"So, what's up? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Logan mumbled. "I'm still trying to figure out how to ask you something."

 _Ask me something? That's a little weird_.

"Okay, take your time. We don't have to go straight to the campfire, we can kind of wander a bit," Dan said, stuffing his hands into his shorts pockets.

"Thanks," Logan whispered, then fell silent.

It wasn't until a few minutes later that he spoke again suddenly, as if he had to ask it right then or he'd never ask.

"How did you first come out to somebody?" he blurted out.

 _Oh, it's about_ that _. Hmm. I really hope I do this right_.

"Well, that's a question, alright," Dan laughed awkwardly. He hummed in thought, remembering coming out to his best friend. "I came out to my best friend in high school. We'd been talking about who in our class we thought was cute, and I mentioned a female friend of ours at first. She was cute, yeah, but I'd had my sights set on this boy for the _longest_ time. I hadn't said anything to anyone yet, though, because I didn't think I was ready. And then all of a sudden I thought, 'What am I doing? It'll be okay if I tell my best friend, he's already told me that he likes boys'. And I decided to bring my crush into this conversation about cute classmates, and my friend kind of stopped for a second, and then this big grin came onto his face and he gave me a great big hug." Dan looked down at Logan, who was staring intently at the ground, seemingly deep in thought. "That was just the first time, though. I've come out a lot in my life, and it hasn't always gone so smoothly. Usually, it has, which is amazing. I'm extremely lucky to be able to say that. But other times I haven't been as smoothly received. Why do you ask?"

Logan sighed and stopped walking. Dan stopped with him. "I'm- I'm not sure," Logan began, "but I think I might be gay."

Dan turned to face Logan with a soft smile. "Thank you for telling me. Do you wanna talk through that 'think I might' part? I've had that debate with myself several times."

Logan slowly nodded, then continued walking. "I don't know why I'm not sure," he said, frustrated. "I thought it would be easy to know, you know? Like, either you like somebody or you don't. But last year in school I liked a girl, and now I like a boy. At least, I think I do. I don't know. It feels... different."

Dan hummed. "That's a struggle I know well. It's really hard to distinguish the feelings of attraction, from platonic to romantic to sexual, especially when you might feel pressures to think or feel a certain way. I personally feel attraction to women and men differently, too, and it took me a long time to realize that my attraction to men was actually attraction and not jealousy, for example."

"Yeah," Logan breathed. "Why is that so hard to get? Like, you'd think the feelings would be the same, but it has to go and be difficult. All I know is that I- I want this boy to like me, and I want us to go to the movies together, or maybe get some food, or maybe just hang out, I'm- I'm not really sure. But I know I can't stop thinking about what it would be like to be with him as more than friends."

"Do you want to talk to him about it?" Dan asked gently.

Logan shrugged. "Sort of? I'm afraid of what he'll say, though. Like. What if he doesn't like other boys? What if he doesn't like that _I_ like other boys, or what if he asks if I'm gay? I'm not even sure of that!"

Dan chuckled softly. "That's always a struggle. I think it's important to keep a few things in mind. The first is that you have to go easy on yourself. Self-discovery won't happen overnight, so patience is key. Another is that it's okay if you're not sure what you are. Labels can help some people but hurt others, so if you don't have yours yet, don't stress. If you need one, you'll find one that fits. As for this boy, there's not much you can do, unfortunately. You can try to see how he reacts to talking about maybe some gay characters on a show, and that could tell you a bit about how he might respond to you liking other boys. Otherwise, I'm afraid you'll just have to face that rejection. I know that can be scary," Dan added, "but it'll be okay, I promise. And you don't have to do anything you don't want to do, okay?"

Logan nodded.

They talked for a few more minutes, Dan sharing some of his experiences in the LGBT+ community and in the dating world, before they reached the campfire.

"I think I want to talk to Phil about it, too," Logan said tentatively. "He seems like he'd be a good second person to come out to."

Dan smiled reassuringly. "Definitely. Do you want me with you, or would you rather go on your own?"

Logan squared his shoulders and cracked his neck. "I can go on my own." He took a deep breath. "Here I go."

Dan watched him walk over to Phil, and then let his eyes wander around the campfire to give them some privacy. A few minutes later, Logan and Phil walked towards Dan. Logan was beaming, and Phil looked very proud.

"Thanks, Dan," Logan said. "That was really helpful."

"I'm glad to hear it," Dan replied. "And I want you to know that I'm very proud of you. If you ever need to talk about it some more, you know where to find me."

Logan nodded. "Thanks! I'm gonna go get a s'more now, I think." And with that, he walked over to where the rest of his cabin mates were already preparing their marshmallows.

Dan watched him walk away, smiling softly. It felt good to be helpful.

“That was really good of you,” Phil commented. Dan turned to see Phil already looking at him. “Logan looks so relieved.”

Dan blushed. “Oh, yeah, I mean. I’m just happy to help, you know? Too many kids like him don’t feel like they can talk to people about that kind of thing.”

Phil nodded, looking back towards Logan. “Yeah, but you didn’t have to, and you did, and it meant a lot to him. I don’t know.” Phil shrugged. “You’re just really good at that reassurance, and I’m glad you’re here. I don’t think I’d be so good at it.”

The blush on Dan’s cheeks deepened. “Thanks,” he whispered.

~~~~~~~~~~

“-and then the squirrel _jumped_ and landed right on me!” Phil exclaimed, waving his fork around for emphasis.

“Really? That’s absolutely insane! Why are animals so weird around you?” Dan asked with a laugh.

“I don’t know! I love animals but I need them to stop before they accidentally claw my eyes out or something,” Phil replied. He punctuated his declaration by finally putting the bite of pancakes in his mouth.

It was the morning of the last day of camp with this group. Their campers were eyeing them suspiciously, and Dan couldn’t blame them. Since the start of the campfire the night before, Dan and Phil had been getting along better than they had in years, and Dan was ecstatic. He was sure he was very obviously happier now than he had been all weekend, and he liked to think that the same could be said for Phil. It all made Dan remember just how well they had worked together their first year, and that gave him hope for the coming weeks and years.

“Oh, god, please don’t let a squirrel claw your eyes out,” Dan said, feigning exasperation. He had a wide smile on his face, though, so the effect was diminished.

After breakfast, they all went back to the beach during their free time, but this time both cabins came along.

“Thanks for inviting us,” Phil told Dan as they trekked through the woods together at the back of the group. “Our campers are all such good friends at this point, it’s good we could do something more together today.”

“Of course!” Dan replied. “We can hang out together more, now, too,” he suggested tentatively. He was trying to work towards making their friendship normal again, but he didn’t want to make Phil uncomfortable.

He didn’t have to worry, however, because Phil turned to him with a smile. “I’d like that.”

At the beach, their campers broke up into groups to play games, swim, and sunbathe. Meanwhile, Dan and Phil decided to build a sandcastle together.

“I am _so_ bad at this,” Phil warned Dan. “This will be a right mess.”

Dan giggled. “Good, because I’m bad at it, too. Let’s keep our expectations low.”

They made a few mounds of sand, trying to pack some into the buckets they’d brought along. Every time they flipped the bucket, though, all the sand would crumble out in a messy pile. Phil would laugh as Dan let out a dramatic “Noooo”, then they’d try again. 

Throughout the process, a few campers stopped by to try to help, but would always give up when they realized how hopeless it was; Dan and Phil were two giggly messes, and their sandcastle was barely a mound of sand with a moat all around it.

An hour later, Dan stood back to admire their hard work.

He immediately burst out laughing again. “Oh- oh my _god_!” His laugh grew from a few chuckles to a hyena laugh as Phil joined him a few feet from their failed structure. There was a lumpy mass in the middle of a sorry excuse for a moat, which had absolutely no water in it. The mass was supposed to be their castle, but it really looked more like the worst bubble wrap in history.

“We can’t be trusted to build anything,” Phil managed to say between snorts and laughs.

Dan shook his head. “Definitely not.”

The campers came to join them and view their work, and every single one of them laughed hysterically.

“You worked on that- hahaha- for _so long_ ,” laughed Chris. 

Dan and Phil made eye contact over his head. They each had a twinkle of amusement in their eyes, and the silent message they communicated was, “We make a good mess of a team.”

Apparently, the campers all picked up on Dan and Phil’s exaggerated fondness for each other, as they exchanged excited glances.

No one said anything until the final few rehearsals of their play. Dan was backstage with Chris and Maisie, where they were getting the props ready to go. 

“You and Phil are really happy today,” Chris commented casually, fixing a prop that had bent out of shape. 

Dan rolled his eyes. _Here we go again_. “Yeah, we are.”

“Did something happen?” Chris pushed, looking up from the prop.

“I’m not sure what you mean,” Dan replied, feigning ignorance as he carefully arranged the props on a table. He hoped Chris wouldn’t have the guts to press on, but he knew it was a vain hope. 

Chris rolled his eyes. “I _mean_ , are you guys together now?”

_And there it is._

Dan sighed. “You know, it’s really none of your business,” he tried to explain, but it was a weak attempt. He resigned himself to giving more details with another sigh as Chris stared at him pointedly. “Ugh, fine,” he caved. He turned to face Chris and Maisie, leaning against the prop table. “We’re not together, but we’re getting friendlier, okay? But that’s all. Literally, we’re barely friends.”

Chris gave him a blank stare, clearly communicating _barely friends, my ass_.

Groaning, Dan continued. “We had a deep conversation the other day and now we’re developing more of an appreciation for each other. Is that all?”

“By ‘deep conversation’, do you mean you talked about your feelings?” urged Maisie, the rose prop now forgotten in her hands. “Did you at least admit to liking each other?”

Dan blushed. “Not exactly. Feelings were discussed, and Phil said he used to like me, but I have no indication that he still likes me _now_.” He shook his head and looked at the floor. “I don’t even know what I’d do if he does.”

Shocked silence met him, and he glanced up to see Chris and Maisie staring at him like he’d grown a second head.

“What? What’d I do?” Dan asked, confused.

Maisie scoffed.

“Mate, he _definitely_ still likes you,” assured Chris. “Especially today, he’s been looking at you like you put the sun in the sky.”

“Yeah, and what do you mean you don’t know what you’d do? You’d ask him out, wouldn’t you?” Maisie added.

Dan scrunched his nose as he thought about it. 

_It’s absurd, isn’t it? Me asking Phil out on a date?_

“Oh, come on,” Chris chided. “You clearly like him, so what’s the problem? You should totally go for it.”

_Maybe he’s right. Phil certainly thought we were already on our way there at first, so would it be that weird now? Of course, we’d have to start slow, since we still have a few years of history to work out, but I feel like we could do it. We’re already trying anyway, so I guess it’s probably feasible._

“I’ll think about it,” Dan conceded eventually. “But no interference from you lot, got it?”

“Interfere?” Chris exclaimed dramatically. “Why, we wouldn’t dream of it!”

“We know about the real ‘Operation Cupid’,” Dan deadpanned.

Chris and Maisie exchanged a not-so-sneaky glance, and Dan realized that maybe that was the point- Dan and Phil were supposed to be aware of the plot the whole time because it made them think about what it might look like for them to get together.

 _Those sneaky little shits, always two steps ahead._

“You- oh, whatever,” Dan blurted out, exasperated. He gestured to the props with a floppy hand. “Finish fixing this, or something.” He stormed away to help Phil with the campers onstage.

He must have been more flustered than he realized, as Phil immediately asked if he was okay.

“What? Yeah, I’m- I’m fine,” Dan stuttered, feeling the blush grow darker on his cheeks.

 _Dammit, Dan, get a hold of yourself. He literally just asked if you’re okay. Get through this play and then you can worry about the whole “Operation Cupid” thing. Well. The_ real _Operation Cupid._

Phil eyed Dan suspiciously, but let it go.

Dan helped Phil direct the kids and calm them down when they got overly nervous for a few hours, and then it was time for the performance for the parents.

Dan and Phil sat backstage together in case something went wrong, but they weren’t too worried. Their campers were highly capable and the play wasn’t exactly complicated.

Sitting quietly in an uncomfortable plastic chair next to Phil, Dan thought about what Maisie and Chris had been suggesting earlier.

 _I should just go for it, right?_ he wondered. _I don’t think he’ll say no._

He glanced over at Phil to see him watching the stage, a fond smile on his face.

_I hope he doesn’t say no._

He reached out a hand and gently poked Phil’s arm to get his attention.

Phil turned to him, eyebrows raised in question.

“What’s up?” he whispered.

Dan leaned forward so Phil would be able to hear him without them disrupting the mini-play on the stage.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked nervously.

Phil’s eyebrows scrunched up in concern and confusion at Dan’s shaky tone. “Of course, what is it?”

Taking a steadying breath, Dan rambled, looking anywhere but Phil’s eyes. “Well, in the last couple of days here I’ve remembered how good of a team we made that first year we knew each other, and how close of friends we were. I know we’ve just talked about trying to move past the arguments we’ve had in the last few years, but I feel like there’s more we could do.”

Phil turned so he was facing Dan in his chair. “What are you trying to say?”

Dan fidgeted with his hands, staring at them intently. “Earlier, when we talked through some of our issues, you said you stopped talking to me because you liked me and didn’t want to cause problems in my relationship. So, I guess what I wanted to ask was- do you still like me?” As Dan finally managed to ask Phil his question, he carefully looked up from under his lashes to see Phil’s response.

Phil looked surprised. He blinked a few times as the question settled in, his cheeks darkening with a blush. When he realized he was still making eye contact with Dan, he hunched over slightly to shyly watch the floor instead.

“Well, I-” he began, but his words caught in his throat. He coughed a bit, then tried again. “I do. I mean, it’s a little complicated, like you said, because we have such a history of disagreements and everything.” He paused, glancing up at Dan briefly before continuing. “But I also know that, with time, we can work through that. These last few days as we’ve worked with these kids, I’ve seen the side of you that made me like you in the first place. You’re so _kind_ to them and you genuinely care about them _so much_. Plus, you’re funny and smart and attractive, like unfairly so-” Phil babbled, rolling his eyes, before realizing what he was saying and who he was saying it to and cutting himself off. He cleared his throat. “So, um. Yes, I do still like you.”

Dan was beaming. “You’re really cute, you know that?”

Phil ducked his head in embarrassment again, but Dan reached out a hand to gently cup his cheek and guide his head so they could look at each other again.

“I like you, too.” He stroked Phil’s cheek with his thumb once, then dropped his hand. His eyes scanned Phil’s face for any signs of discomfort, but, finding none, continued. “And I know we have a lot of stuff to work out, but I know we can do it. I think us being just friends would be fine, of course, but I think we have so much potential for more if we just try. The real question I wanted to ask, then: Will you go out with me?” Dan paused as Phil nodded slowly, a soft smile growing on his face, then quickly added, “Obviously, we have to start slow, and we don’t really have to define anything yet if you don’t want to, but maybe we could have a chill date sometime?” 

“I’d like that,” Phil replied. He reached out and gave Dan’s hand a squeeze. “‘Slow and chill’ sounds great.”

Dan smiled shyly. “Good.” He peeked over at the stage just in time to see Jaime and Chloe hug each other tightly, the final moment of _Operation Cupid_. “We can work out details later,” he told Phil, who agreed. They stood together to welcome their campers backstage with applause.

“What did you guys think?” Jaime asked excitedly.

“It was great!” Phil exclaimed. He went around to hug all the campers and offer congratulations.

“What about you, Dan? Was Operation Cupid a success?” asked Chris when he saw Dan’s fond expression directed at Phil. 

Dan turned to Chris and rolled his eyes playfully. “Yes, Chris, it certainly was.”

**Author's Note:**

> I also post to my Tumblr! See the rest of my fics [here](https://whiskersandquiff.tumblr.com/fics-masterlist)


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